


Always Getting Over You

by BehindGrayEyes



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Caroline Forbes & Stefan Salvatore Friendship, F/M, Klaus Mikaelson & Stefan Salvatore Friendship, Minor Caroline Forbes/Klaus Mikaelson, Rebekah Mikaelson & Original Female Character Sistership
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-05
Updated: 2016-03-10
Packaged: 2018-03-21 08:23:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 66,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3685116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BehindGrayEyes/pseuds/BehindGrayEyes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>» In the 1920's, a boy met a girl. What happens when the girl wakes up after a 90 years of sleep to find that the world has changed and the love of her life is in love with another girl? Instead of falling in love with Rebekah, Stefan actually loved her twin sister Rheanna and now with her awake who will Stefan choose? Stefan/OC</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The End Of The Affair

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, Fabulous Readers!
> 
> So, this is my first story on AO3. I've uploaded it on FanFiction.net and Wattpad under the same account name, but I want to know what you guys think ;)
> 
> This story is one that was just playing around in my head after watching The Vampire Diaries season 3 because honestly Stefan Salvatore does not get the love he deserves. Elena is a bitch. Damon is a dick.
> 
> If you guys like this little appetizer, please don't hesitate to review because I absolutely love reading what you think. Please favourite and follow at our reading pleasure.
> 
> \- BehindGrayEyes xx
> 
> >>>>>>>>>>

The End Of The Affair:

Chicago 1922

The air the cold in the Windy City of Chicago as a handsome young man with light brown hair and leaf green eyes exited a stationary automobile that was parked on the side of the empty street. With a smirk on his lips, the man straightened his jacket and strutted down the abandoned street without a backwards glance.

In the distance the sound of traffic was the only sound that could be heard until he reached the mouth of a dark alleyway that he turned down without changing his pace. He came to a heavy door that was positioned halfway down the length of the alley and came to a complete stop in front of the door. His gaze looked to the left quickly in the direction of the mouth of the alley to make sure no one had seen him approach before his head swivelled to the right.

Not even using half his strength, the young man pulled open the door before he silently slipped into the brick building leaving no trace he was ever in the alley to begin with. The man smiled genuinely as the soft sound of jazz music filled the darkened hallway that he had just entered.

A small speck of light in the distance guided his way into the crowded jazz bar that was hidden away in the Chicago underground.   
The club floor was crowded with men in sharp suits and women in fashionable flapper dresses that were all chatting and laughing without a care in the world thanks to the forbidden liquor that filled their glasses and blood.

The man's gaze swept around the crowd, taking in all the faces before landing on the petite African-American woman that was on the stage in the middle of room singing in time with the music. Her melodic voice cut off abruptly so his green-eyed gaze jerked back to the stage in surprise to see the singer looking directly at him with a smile.

"Guess who my eyes have just spied, ladies? Looking for a good time, Mr. Salvatore?" The singer asked him happily from the stage as excitement danced in her dark brown eyes and the young man smirked as nearly all eyes in the club turned to see who the infamous 'Mr Salvatore' was.

"Save me a dance, Gloria." The young man responded with a suggestive wink towards the singer and she giggled softly with a slight nod of her head before continuing her performance as though no interruption had occurred. 

Mr Salvatore tore his eyes away from the entertainment to see if he could find a dame to occupy his time for the night. His light green eyes swept over the room once again although this time his inspection if the crowd was more critical as he silently judged each of women in the club regardless to whether or not they were alone for the night. He smirked to himself when his gaze fell on a lone woman in a dark navy flapper dress with honey coloured hair curled perfectly in a fashionable twist who was sitting on one of the stools at the bar nursing a tumbler of amber liquid and ignoring the rowdy men around her as she listened intently to the woman on stage. She sipped her drink without taking her eyes off of Gloria and he found himself wondering what colour those eyes were so he took a few steps closer to the bar and to her before coming to a stop when another man decided to approach the young woman.

Salvatore cocked his head to the curiously as he watched the other young man lean on the counter top next to the young woman and open his mouth to say something to her only to be cut off when she silently held up her white gloved hand that wasn't holding her glass to prevent him from speaking without break her concentration. She sipped her drink with one hand while waving the other in a dismissive fashion at the man who gaped at her for a moment more before sulking off back to his friends while the pretty girl rolled her unidentified coloured eyes.

>>>>

Later that same night, Mr Salvatore was drinking with a group of other men while chatting and laughing loudly as Gloria continued to serenade the crowd. A pretty blonde with bright blue eyes wearing a red flapper dress was dancing with a handsome man a few feet away from them on the dance floor when she suddenly pulled away from her dance partner. She turned her heatedly glare to the rowdy group of males near her before striding over to them angrily.

"Sorry to crash the fun, boys, but some of us actually came here to hear the music. Not you." She said to the group in British tinted voice and Salvatore turned his attention the impatient blonde tapping her high heeled foot to the side of the group.

"I am so sorry, sweetheart. Are we offending you?" he asked her cockily with a smirk plastered on his lips as he took a step towards her and his friends behind him laughed in amusement as she sneered slightly at what she saw as an insult.

"It would take a lot more than a baby face like this to offend me." she counted softly as she gently let her finger graze his left cheek almost seductively. Salvatore smirked at her slightly but his attention was drawn over the blonde's right shoulder when he caught sight of the honey haired woman from earlier that night walking towards them with a small smirk on her lips. His smirk changed to a slight genuine smile when he saw that her eyes were a deep oak colour and her lips were a seductive red that reminded him of blood. The blonde quirked an eyebrow at her company in question before following his gaze by turning her head to the side and seeing the same honey haired beauty approaching them.

"Rebekah, still terrorising the town I see." The honey haired woman commented playfully in a memorising British accented voice as she smiled at the blonde and linked her arm through the other woman's before turning her attention to the handsome man who had caught her attention earlier that evening. "You'll have to excuse my sister. Sometimes I think she was raised in a cave." She apologised to him politely before glancing at her sister with a secretive smile that Salvatore couldn't even begin to understand.

"Oh, that's quite alright, miss." He responded her with his light green eyes twinkling with mirth and her smile widened as she was drawn into his gaze.

"Do Gloria a favour and stick a sock in it." Rebekah ordered the pair with a small smile when she noticed the way her sister had immediately taken the attention of Mr Salvatore before turning back to the dance floor and to the man waiting for her return. A woman passed by the duo carrying a tray of flutes filled with champagne and Salvatore took one in his hand as she passed but it was soon taken from him by the honey haired stranger in front of him.

"Ooh. Please, help yourself." He said to her in amusement as she lifted the glass to her lips daintily to take a small sip of the bubbly liquid.

"Oh, I always do." She retorted with a sly smirk on her lips as she leaned her face closer to his as though she was going to place a kiss on his lips. Instead of meeting his inviting lips, she tilted her head to the side so that she could whisper quietly into his ear. "Careful, Mr. Salvatore. You're still wearing your date." She said to him softly before pulling away from him slightly with her face overtaken by bloodlust so that her fangs were elongated and the veins around her eyes were darkened so that they were easily seen. She wiped her pointer finger gently over the corner of his lips where a drop of scarlet coloured blood still lingered from his earlier victim before she sucked her finger seductively without taking her oak coloured eyes off of his light green ones. "She's lovely."

"So, do I get your name?" he asked her quietly as he was still in a trance over the act the mystery woman had just performed.

"If you're lucky…" she drawled mischievously as she ran a finger over his chest before walking away without a backwards glance at him to see the intrigued smile grace his handsome features.

>>>>

Mr Salvatore was sitting at one of the secluded booth at the club with a human woman next and he smirked to himself before letting his vampire fangs elongate before sinking his teeth into the woman's neck.

The delicious taste of fresh blood filled his mouth in a euphoric sensation just as someone with honey coloured hair approached him and the woman from the other side of the booth. She allowed her vampiric features come out as bloodlust overpowered her and she bit into the opposite side of the woman's neck. They both drink the blood of the woman until her heartbeat slowed down and she passed out into an unconscious state. The two young vampires pulled away from the woman with a single scarlet drop on theirs lips and their light green and oak brown eyes meet in a heated, lust-filled stare. Salvatore leaned forward towards the young woman across from him and placed his hand on her soft cheek before pulling her forwards so that his mouth met hers. He kissed her hungrily as she responded to his lips eagerly until they had to pull away from each other before they went too far in a public place. As he pulled away from their embrace, he offered her a smile and she returned it happily as his gaze moved down to her cleavage where a silver pendent necklace was nestled. He reached across the unconscious body between them to run his fingers lightly over the design on the necklace.

"It's beautiful." He stated to her as his soft touch against her bare skin sent shivers through her body and she bit her lower lip slightly to stifle a moan of pleasure that threatened to escape.

"A witch gave it to me and my sister. Supposedly it's magical." She informed him with a small smile on her lips as she leaned subconsciously into his touch.

"And is it?"

"It brought me love, didn't it?" she answered him almost teasingly but there was an undeniable measure of truth behind her words that both parties could hear. He smiled slightly at her words just as an unfamiliar man with sandy blonde hair wearing a sharp suit approached their table with a scowl on his handsome face.

"It's late, Rheanna, we're leaving." The man announced to the couple in a strong British accent although all of his attention was on the pretty honey haired woman in the booth. She turned to face him with a frown on her lips and her eyebrows pursed in annoyance as he grabbed her elbow and brought her to her feet next to him with ease.

"Get off of me!" she ordered sternly as she tried to pull her arm out of his grasp but was not able to fight his superior strength. Salvatore frowned at the scene in front of him and quickly stood from the booth in case he has to defend the beautiful brown eyed girl.

"Who is this guy?" he demanded in a hostile tone of voice because he didn't like that way Rheanna was being manhandled by the sandy haired man in front of him.

"Stefan, don't. He'll kill you. He's a lot stronger than he looks." Rheanna warned him quickly so that the man she loved wouldn't do anything to get himself injured or killed.

"So this is the famous Stefan Salvatore I've been hearing so much about. You're right, he does have funny hair. I'm bored. I want to go." The man said to the Rheanna in a deadpan, emotionless voice as she pulled her arm out of his grasp with a scowl of her own at his words against Stefan.

"Then go find Rebekah and go without me, I'm not your girlfriend."

"No, you're my sister, which means... You have to do as I say."

>>>>

Rheanna and Stefan were alone in a small apartment lying in bed together after having passionate sex with both of them breathing heavily. Stefan rolled over on his side so that he was facing the beautiful honey haired woman lying next to him and smiled slightly at the flawless sight before him. She was lying on her back with her hands folded on her stomach over the white starch sheet that covered the two of them and her eyes closed peacefully so that he couldn't see the gorgeous oak coloured eyes.

"You're staring." She stated playfully in her pretty British lilt without opening her eyes and a small smile graced her lips.

"I'm gazing." Stefan counted with a smirk as he moved his hand to rest on top of hers on her stomach and she opened one eye to look at him with mirth twinkle in her oak coloured iris.

"It's creepy."

"It's romantic." He said to her teasingly and she opened her other eye to stare at him intently. He squirmed uncomfortably under her intense gaze and frowned at her in confusion as he why she was staring at him like that. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I'm seeing how you like it." She informed him as she blinked rapidly because of the intense staring had dried out her eyes and she laughed lightly at his expense. He laughed along with her as he ripped the pillow out from under his head and hit her with it as she gasped in surprise.

"Stop it, Stefan!" she ordered playfully through her giggles as she wriggled against the pillow attack and he laughed at her attempts to stop him. She grinned at the man next to her before she rolled over on top of him using her Original vampire speed and he gaped at her for a second in surprise because he was still not used to her superior speed and strength.

"I'm still not used to that…" he murmured quietly as she lowered her lips to his and cut off any more of what he was going to say. Their lips melded together perfectly as they moved in sync as Stefan ran his hand up her naked body and she shivered at his touch making him smirk against her mouth. Rheanna pulled away from him with a small loving smile on her lips and he smiled back at her as he pressed a chaste kiss to her lips before brushing a lock of honey coloured hair behind her ear. "I love you, Rhea."

"I love you too, Stefan."

>>>>

Rhea and Stefan were swaying together on the dance floor as Gloria crooned gloriously from the stage and other couples surrounded them but their attention was only on each other. Stefan had his hand clasped in hers as he pulled her closer to his body so that they were nearly touching and she giggled in delight as she leaned her head in the crook of his neck.

"Hmm. I like dancing with you." She whispered softly into his neck as they took pleasure in the presence of each other and a smile graced his lips as he glanced down at the top of her honey coloured head because she was still a few inches shorter then him even in heels.

"Hmm. I like dancing with you too."

"I'm glad because kind of don't want to stop." She admitted to him quietly as though he wasn't even meant to hear it even with his supernatural advanced hearing and he pressed a kiss to the crown of her head in silent acknowledgment of her words.

"Rheanna Mikaelson…" Stefan murmured softly as though he was testing out the sound of the name and she hummed in response as she waited patiently for him to continue. "Rheanna Salvatore…"

"What?" she asked incredulously as her head snapped up to meet his green eyed gaze with a dubious expression on her beautiful face but Stefan just raised a hand to cup her face lovingly before pressing a chaste kiss to her lips without answering her question. 

A loud crash came from the front door of the secret underground club and Rhea and Stefan pulled away from each other to see what the commotion was. Both their eyes widened in shock as they saw a gang of uniformed police officers storming into the club with their guns drawn.

Stefan grabbed her small hand in his larger one when the officers started shooting randomly even though he knew that as vampires the lead bullet wouldn't do more than irritate them if they were hit. They both crouched down behind the bar in an attempt to hide from the ongoing shoot out in the club and Stefan noticed one of the bullets lying on the ground next to them so he reached out to pick it up slowly.

"They're using wooden bullets. They know." He told her as he examined the bullet at eye level so he failed to notice the panicked look that crossed Rheanna's face.

"That means he's here." She whispered to herself as her oak coloured eyes widened in fear and Stefan's head snapped up when he heard the dread in her usually playful voice.

"Who? Who's here?"

"Rheanna! Come on, we've got to go, sweetheart." She heard her brother calling out for her from behind them so she slowly stood up from her crouch with Stefan following her lead. She turned her head to the side to see Niklaus and Rebekah rushing over to her with matching panicked expressions on their faces.

"What the hell is going on?" Stefan demanded when he saw the three siblings all wearing the same expression because he was really starting to worry about the woman he loved and the two people that he had come to care about so deeply. Instead of answering him though, Niklaus just pushed Rhea towards her twin sister who caught her when she stumbled a little.

"Stefan!" she called out desperately when Niklaus pushed the duo towards the backdoor so that they wouldn't get caught but Rhea struggled in Rebekah's arms because she didn't want to leave the man that she loved.

"Go!" Niklaus yelled frantically at his younger sisters in an attempt to get them out of the dire situation and Rhea finally allowed Rebekah to drag her out of the club with her but not without looking back at the green eyed man next to her brother.

>>>>

Rebekah and Rheanna were standing next to a car in front of a warehouse when Niklaus appeared seemingly out of nowhere. Rhea looked behind her brother for any sign of Stefan and bit lower lip anxiously when she couldn't see him there.

"Hurry up, Rheanna, Rebekah. Let's go!" he shouted at the duo who had yet to move a muscle when he returned from the club but instead of rushing to follow his orders as they normally did all they did was share a look that he couldn't begin to interpret.

"He'll be here any second." Rhea said quietly mostly to herself before looking back down the street for the man that she loved and her twin took her hand in hers to give it a reassuring squeeze. Rhea knew that if anyone understood her desire to be with the one that she loved it would be Rebekah because as twins they knew each other better than they knew themselves.

"Do you want to die? We've been found. We need to move."

"Not without Stefan."

"Stefan's not coming. We have to disappear. He'll draw too much attention. Let him go." Nik told them both softly as he watched his Rhea's expression fall to heartbreak and Rebekah turn to outrage for her sister.

"What did you do?" Rebekah demanded in a harsh whisper as Rheanna just continued to stare out into the empty street while she composed her face into a perfect mask of indifference even though her heart was breaking into a million pieces.

"Come on. We don't have time for one of your tantrums."

"I don't want to run anymore, Nik! All we do is run."

"I see. And you, Rheanna?" Niklaus asked in a cold tone of voice as he began to realise what was coming and Rhea finally turned her attention to her brother with a hard expression so that she wouldn't break down in front of him.

"I want to be with Stefan." She told him honestly as she took a step closer to her sister side in a silent support and Rebekah reached down to clasp their hands together.

"Fine. Then choose. Him or me." Niklaus demanded harshly with his light blue eyes hard and not giving an inch to compromise. Rhea and Rebekah locked gazes as oak coloured irises met cerulean blue in as a silent agreement passed between the two females. "That's what I thought. Get in the truck. Let's go."

"Good-bye, Nik." The girls chorused in unison to the older brother that they had followed to the ends of the earth for nearly the last 1000 years. Rhea turned her head to glance down the street towards where Stefan's apartment was situated but before she could make a move to go to her love, a sharp pain radiated from her chest. She gasped as the pain increased throughout her body and she looked down to see her normally tan skin turning a sickly grey colour. 'Stefan', was the last thought that crossed her mind before the darkness fell over her and the world ceased to exist.

>>>>

Rhea POV:

The faraway sound of traffic was the first thing that I could hear and I squeezed my eyes closed tighter when the noise overtook my senses. I tried to open my eyes to find out where I was but I found that my body was far too weak to even move an eyelid.

"Hello? Are you awake yet?" an unfamiliar voice said from far away but all that I could concentrate on was the sound of blood pumping through the strangers veins as the bloodlust immediately overtook my sense. 

I felt my fangs elongate with the need for blood as the rusty scent of blood made my mouth water and I lurched forward at a supernatural speed. My hand grabbed the human that was leaning over my resting place and I latched my fangs into the person neck as I drank greedily. The delicious blood filled my mouth but I was too hungry to properly enjoy the meal that I was getting. I slowly opened my eyes when I felt my muscle strengthen since the intake of blood before I unfastened my fangs from the unfamiliar man's neck to look around the warehouse. The man blinked at me drowsily as his knees buckled slightly with the loss of blood so I tilted his head to meet my gaze.

"Go to sleep." I compelled him in my British lilted voice and the human man immediately closed his eyes as he fell to the ground. I sighed softly at the ease that it took me to compel an innocent human but made no move to correct the situation. I tilted my head to the side curiously as I looked down at the coffin that I was sitting in and scoffed at the clichéd nature of the location Niklaus deemed worthy for me.

I lifted my legs out of the coffin and jumped down on unsteady legs being careful not to stand on the unconscious man. I turned in a circle to see five other coffins in the warehouse with me so I pursed my lips as I thought about the consequences of undaggering all of my siblings. I took a few steps towards the closest coffin almost hesitantly before shaking myself off and walking more confidently towards the oak coffin. I lifted the lid with ease and sighed when I saw the desiccated body of my twin sister lying almost peacefully in the same red flapper dress I had last seen her in back in the 20's. 

I smirked to myself as I remembered the deal that Rebekah and I had made with Niklaus centuries ago before reaching over to grip the silver stake in my hand. With one comes the other, I thought to myself as I pulled the dagger out of her heart and placed it next to her in the coffin. I walked gracefully over the unconscious man that was still sleeping next to my coffin and lifted him up by the nape of his neck before dragging him over to Rebekah's coffin. "Come on, Bekah. Time to wake up, sister." I cooed at her as I leaned to sleeping man over her coffin so that the alluring scent of blood would wake her up like it had done me.

"Hmm…" she murmured sleepily as her eyelids twitched almost imperceptible to a human's eye but I wasn't human so I smiled slightly at the sight. She shot up so suddenly that I jumped in surprise as she latched onto the man's neck with her fangs. I held the man still as she drank from him greedily until his heartbeat stopped altogether because of the lack of blood in his system and then I threw his corpse onto the ground without taking my gaze off of my sister. Her once grey skin was return back to its normal tan shade as she slowly opened her cerulean blue eyes in confusion. Her stiff muscle made her groan out loud as she turned her head towards the sound of the body hitting the ground. 

"Rhea?" she asked quietly as though I was a figure of her imagination that would disappear at a large noise and a small smile spread across my lips at the familiar sound of my sister, my best friend.

"It's me, Bekah." I responded just as quietly as though the normal register of my voice would wake the others still dead in their coffins and a matching smile spread across her lips as she finally allowed herself to admit that it was really me standing in front of her.

I took a step back as she tossed her long legs carelessly over the edge of the coffin she was in before jumping down to the ground next to me. She immediately wrapped her arms around me tightly and I closed my eyes as I sunk into her embrace. I heard her sniff a little as she fought tears and I just squeezed her tighter without saying anything because I knew that Rebekah's pride wouldn't allow me to comfort her in words. She pulled away from me after a moment longer but kept a hold of my shoulders as she looked me over as though I had changed even though I too was dead in a box and smiled at me as though she couldn't believe that it was really me. I tucked a fallen strand of blonde hair behind her ear just as a crashing noise came from outside the warehouse and both our gazes snapped to the front of the mostly vacant warehouse.

I pressed a finger to my lips in a silent warning to my sister to be quiet and she nodded in understanding as I grabbed the dagger that had been inside Rebekah from the coffin next to us. Rebekah grabbed my hand silently before we both ran and hid behind one of the massive storage containers that were at the back of the warehouse just in case it was a threat to our safety that was coming into the warehouse.

"Oh, bloody hell. I forgot about our stupid deal." I heard Niklaus utter to himself from the main floor of the warehouse and I clasped Rebekah's hand tighter then she tensed in outrage at our brother. "Rheanna, Rebekah... It's your big brother. Come out, come out, wherever you are." He taunted us in a sing-song voice so I quietly passed the dagger in my hand to Rebekah because I knew that she would get the most pleasure out of stabbing him in the heart. She smiled at me in thanks before flying out of our hiding place at supernatural vampire speed and I quickly followed her just in time to see her stabbing the dagger into his heart with all her strength.

"Go to hell, Nik!" she swore as he crumbled a little in pain and I smirked to myself in satisfaction but I knew that the dagger wouldn't really do any damage to him because of his werewolf side. He scowled down at the dagger in his chest before it out with ease and throwing it careless on the ground at his feet.

"Don't pout. You knew it wouldn't kill me." he said to us with an eye roll as Rebekah crossed our arms over her chest and I frowned in displease at him as I stepped up to stand next to her.

"Yeah, but I was hoping it would hurt more." I supplied for her as I glared at him through narrowed eyes and he glanced at me with a small smile on his lips.

"I understand that you're upset with me, Rheanna… So I'm going to let that go. Just this once. Brought you a little peace offering. You can come in." he called out to someone outside the door and I frowned in confusion as I glanced at Rebekah but she was just as confusion as I was. I looked back at the warehouse door just as it opened and then froze when I saw a familiar man with light brown hair and leaf green eyes.

"Stefan..." I breathed his name as tears sprung to my eyes at the sight of him and I felt Rebekah grabbed my hand in silent comfort. I watched as Nik stepped closer to the man I loved in the 20's and looked him right in the eye to compel him.

"Now you remember." He compelled the other man and I watched with wide eyes as he blinked numerous times when he remembered the past that we had shared.

"Rheanna." He said in the same tone that I had and I smiled at little at the sound of my name coming from his lips as he took a step closer to where Rebekah and I were standing.

"Stefan." Nik called to him in a knowing voice and Stefan turned around to look at my brother with wide eyes full of awe.

"I remember you. We were friends." Stefan stated quietly as he stared at him in wonder and I smiled at the two of them as I remembered the close relationship that the two of them shared.

"We are friends." He corrected him with smile of his own before he turned his attention back to me and Rebekah as he strode over to us in determination. "And now the reason you're here. Gloria tells me you know how to contact the original witch."

"The original witch?" I asked with a scoff as I shared a look with Rebekah who was scowling at our brother.

"What do you have that Gloria needs?" he asked me pointedly as I narrowed my eyes at him but reached up for my necklace anyway. I touched my neck where the silver pendent necklace always sat but my hand hit bare skin where my necklace should've been.

"Where's my necklace? What did you do with it? I never take it off!" I shouted at him in a panic as I glanced at Rebekah with wide eyes to make sure that she wasn't wearing it.

"I don't know. I didn't touch it."

"We need to find it, Nik. Now, I want it back!" Rebekah screamed at him as I moved over to my coffin where I had been lying since the 20's to make sure that it hadn't fallen off in my sleep.

"Tell me that's not what she needs, Rebekah!" Nik shouted at her but I kept my focus on the coffin as I tossed out all the pillows and then screamed in frustration when I couldn't find my necklace. I knew that tears were streaming down my cheeks as I searched for the last remaining artefact of my mothers and pushed the coffin to the ground where it landed with a loud crashing. I turned around to see both my siblings staring at me in shock because of the act of aggression because it was so out of my nature but I ignored them both as I stalked up to them in angry strides.

"I want my necklace, Niklaus." I said in a low and dangerous voice as I glared heatedly at him and he swallowed nervously as he nodded slowly before I walked passed them with tears in my eyes. I looked at Stefan from the corner of my eyes to see him looking concerned but I glanced down to the ground in embarrassment.


	2. Disturbing Behaviour

Rhea POV:   
I looked at my reflection on the full length mirror on the back of the dressing room wall and frowned at the short black dress that I was trying on. I tugged insecurely at the end of the fabric as I turned slightly to look at the back of the outfit.   
There has to be more to this dress, I thought to myself quietly as I grimaced at the short dress that displayed my tanned legs.   
"There has to be more to this dress!" Rebekah called out of the dressing room next to mine in an outrage and I smiled slightly as she spoke the same words as I had thought.   
"There's not." Nik told us at normal volume in a bored tone as I pulled back the red fabric that separated the dressing room from the main shopping boutique and stepped out in my dress to see him and Stefan lounging on one of the couches.   
Stefan glanced up from looking at the floor as I came out of the dressing room and I smiled softly at him but quickly diverted my gaze from his light green one.  
It was strange for me to be around him at the moment because in my mind it had only been yesterday that we were in love but for him it had been 90 odd years.  
Last night, Nik spent hours filling Rebekah and I in on recent events such as him breaking the hybrid curse placed on him by the Original Witch to suppress his werewolf side when we all transitioned into vampires and the fact that Stefan had in fact fallen in love with the latest doppelgänger but Nik had sacrificed her while breaking the curse.  
I bit my lower lip nervously as I looked at myself in the mirror just as Rebekah came strolling out of her dressing room wearing a similar black dress to the one I was wearing.   
"So women in the 21st century dress like prostitutes, then. You know, I got dirty looks for wearing trousers." She spat at the boys as she placed her hands on her hips and I just chuckled at her commented as I offered her a sympathetic smile.   
"You wore trousers so women today could wear nothing." Nik counted to her as he poured himself another glass of champagne from the open bottle resting on the coffee table in front of them.   
“We’d be better off wearing nothing.” I commented in support of my sister as I spun on my heel to look at my brother with a raised eyebrow and noticed him cringing at the mention of his little sisters in the nude.   
"And what is this music? It sounds like a cable car accident." Rebekah complained as she glanced up at the ceiling where the fast paced music was playing from the speakers and I smiled slightly at her as I moved to stand next to a rack of shirts to the side of the room.   
“It's dance music.” Stefan told her simply as I found a red shirt made of slinky material that I liked but when I heard his words I spun around the looked at him with wide eyes.   
“People dance to this?” I asked him in horror as my hand clenched around the shirt in my hand and he chuckled at my dubious expression as he hummed in answer to my question.   
I frowned in anxiety as I realised just how much the world had changed in the last 90 years and how much I had missed when I was dead in a coffin with a dagger in my heart.  
I felt the familiar sensation of tears spring to my eyes but I calmly made sure that my expression was one of indifference because in the last 1000 years I had learned not to show weakness in front of anyone, even my siblings.  
I stalked passed the couches where Nik and Stefan were lounging with the red shirt and a green shirt that I had absentmindedly picked up when I was thinking. Without breaking my stride towards the dressing room I was in earlier, I chucked the green shirt in Nik’s face.   
“Hey!” he shouted in protest as Rebekah and Stefan chuckled at my behaviour but I silently went back into the dressing room to change.  
I sighed in a huff as I shook my head to clear it of all the unnecessary pain that thinking about the fact I had missed out on nearly a century while I was rotting in a box would cause me.   
“Are we done?” Nik said to Rebekah and me from his spot on the couch as I shimmied out of the black dress so that it pooled at my feet in a puddle of black material.   
“And why are you so grumpy?” Rebekah asked our brother in a teasing lilt as I smiled slightly at the familiar banter that normally occurred between my siblings.   
I slipped on the fashionable red shirt so that it wrapped around my body perfect and then pulled on a pair on black shorts that I had grabbed earlier. I pursed my lips in thought as I studied the outfit critically in the full length mirror before smiling slightly when I was happy with the outcome.   
“I needed one thing from Rhea for my witch to find out why my hybrids are dying, one thing. Her necklace. And she lost it.” Nik answered her in a bored voice as I walked out of the dressing room with a pout on my lips at the accusation.   
“I didn't lose it. It's just been missing for 90 years.” I protested harshly through narrowed eyes as I looked at my brother with my hands on my hips and he rolled his eyes at me as Rebekah chuckled at my comment.   
“So what do you think?” Rebekah asked Stefan as she spun around for him to see her outfit and I tilted my head as I looked at her outfit as well.   
“I like it.” He lied to her unconvincingly and I threw him a disbelieving look as Rebekah scowled at him incredulously.   
“He’s lying.” I told her as I turned my attention back to my twin sister and looked the outfit up and down with a frown. “That’s hideous.”   
“What? I said I like it.” Stefan argued with me as he leaned forward on the couch so that his elbows were resting on his knees and I just rolled my eyes at his answer as I took a step closer to him.   
“I can always tell when you're lying, Stefan.” I said with a smile on my lips as I sat next to him on the couch with my legs crossed and Rebekah huffed as she walked back into the dressing room to change.   
“Nice one, good work.” Nik said to Stefan in exasperation when Rebekah was out of sight even though she could easily hear them with her advanced hearing from the dressing room she was in.   
“Rhea’s the one that pulled the dagger out of her.” Stefan murmured quietly in hopes that Rebekah wouldn’t hear him as I chuckled lightly and playfully slapped his forearm in reprimand.   
“I heard that.” Rebekah shouted in an insulted tone from the dressing room and I ducked my head in amusement as I laughed at her expense.   
“All right. I'm going to get some fresh air.” Stefan told me and Nik as he stood up from his seat next to me and I nodded as I smiled sadly in understanding.  
I bit my lower lip as I watched the man I once loved walk out of the fashion boutique without a backwards glance and I looked over at my brother when I felt someone firmly grab my hand in theirs. His light blue eyes were shining with concern for me as he watched me intently so I just shrugged my shoulder delicately in an act of indifference even though my chest was aching with longing.   
“I’ll be fine.” I told him with confidence that I didn’t really feel and he flashed me an understanding smile as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders to pull me to his side so that my head rested on his shoulder. I sighed in contentment as I grabbed the full champagne glass out of his hand and brought it to my lips to sip it daintily while he smirked at my actions.   
“Alright, what about this one?” Rebekah asked us insecurely as she walked out of the dressing room in a beige coloured shirt made of slinky material and a pair of white shorts that suited her perfectly so I clapped in appreciation. She grinned at me widely as her self-doubt disappeared and was replaced by the usual confident demeanour she natural had.   
“You look lovely, Bekah.” I told her honestly as she turned in a circle for me to check out her outfit from behind and I noticed Nik smile slightly at the excitement on her face as she looked in the mirror.  
I turned my head slightly to look out the glass window that Stefan had just left through as the longing ache in my stomach grew uncomfortable and I bit down on the inside on of cheek to stop myself from answering Nik if he knew where Stefan had gone.   
Bekah claimed her new clothes from the compelled worker at the boutique with a satisfied gleam in her eye that I recognised from back in the past whenever we went shopping.  
Nik lead me and my sister out of the store as we fell behind him in companionable silence had we had always found solace in with our arms linked together.   
“Where did Stefan go?” Rebekah asked me curiously as she glanced around the downtown Chicago street as though the handsome man would just appear out of nowhere and I just shrugged my shoulders delicately because I didn’t know the answer.   
“I’m not sure. I’m going to go and check his apartment back in the 20’s. Maybe he returned there.” I answered her softly as I pondered where he might have disappeared to after he left us at the boutique and she nodded in understanding as she gave me a sympathetic smile because she knew exactly how I was feeling about the situation. “Tell Nik where I’ve gone so that he doesn’t have a conniption when he finds me missing.”   
“Hmm. But it’s so funny.” She replied cheekily as she squeezed my arm with a grin and I laughed out loud at her before I split off from my sibling in the direction of Stefan’s old apartment.   
As I walked down the street in my new modern clothing, I tried to stop myself from gawking unattractively as the all the changes that had occurred during the last century that I had been daggered.   
Women strolled down the sidewalk in short skirt and shorts that barely hid their nether regions while tapping their finger on tiny pieces of metal that Stefan had explained earlier that morning was called a mobile telephone and men openly admired the scantily clad females in a way that would have made me blush had I been human.  
I was glancing to my left at the automobiles on the road when I felt someone grip onto my arm and pull me into a dark, abandoned alleyway by the elbow.   
I was too surprised to block the attack straightaway so my head smashed into the brick wall of the alleyway with a sicking crack as my skull fractured under the pressure but I soon recovered my bearings and used my superior Original strength to swap our places so the attacker was pushed into the wall with my small hand wrapped tightly under their neck so that they could not move.  
I grimaced in pain as the fracture on my skull began to heal itself and I let out inhuman-like hiss at the attacker as I let my vampire side come out because I had felt threatened.   
I knew how I would look to a human with my fangs elongated with ease and the dark veins around my eyes more prominent than usual but I ignored the fact that I would have to compel the human after as I shifted my face back to my human mask.   
“I thought you were meant to be the nice one.” A familiar female voice said snarkily as I frowned in confusion and focused on the intruders face until it became one that I recognised well.   
“Katerina….” I breathed out in a relieved sigh as I took in the tan skin, deep brown eyes and delicate features of the doppelgänger and then slowly let my hand release from her throat as I now knew that she wasn’t a danger to me. She threw me a small genuine smile as she rubbed her sore throat with her left hand and I grimaced at the thought of hurting someone I described as I friend.   
>>>>  
3rd Person POV:  
1592 – Barcelona, Spain  
Rheanna Mikaelson was walking down a busy market street with a slight smile on her lips as she enjoyed one of few vacations without any of her siblings tagging along.   
She had always wanted to visit Spain by herself because it was known to be a place full of handsome men and she wouldn’t want to listen to her older brother’s words of warning to her or the men that she brought home for the night.   
Her brothers, especially Niklaus, had the tendency to be overprotective of her and her twin sister, Rebekah so she was immensely glad that she was able to convince them of her need to relax.   
The market was loud as the merchants called out to the wealthy noblemen and travellers that were in attendance that day but Rhea was well in practice of ignoring the painful echoes that were caused by her supernatural hearing.   
“Hola, señorita! ¿Te gustaría comprar este brazalete? Se vería impresionante en usted!” A middle aged Spanish woman called out to her from the closet kiosk but she just ducked out head respectfully without stopping.   
Her smile quickly faded when she thought that she had caught sight of a familiar looking silhouette turning into an alleyway just a few metres ahead of where she stood rooted to the stop in shock.   
The dark brown waves of dark and an olive coloured skin were a perfect match of a girl that she once knew in the village that she had grown up in but she knew that it was impossible that it was the same girl.   
Tatia had been used by the Original Witch to turn her children into vampires so there was no possible way that this girl was her but then Rheanna remembered a story that one of her brother’s had told her about a girl who looked exactly the same as Tatia.   
Her older brother, Elijah had informed her of the events that had occurred in England involving the Petrova doppelgänger so she knew that there was a very good chance that the mystery girl was of elusive Katerina Petrova.   
With a confused frown on her lips, she lifted her skirts gingerly and took off at a fast paced human speed in order to catch another glimpse of the mystery woman that was still in her eye line. Her feet tapped on the cobblestone streets as she chased the other woman down the pathway before following the brunette down a separate street off the main road.   
Rhea turned down the alleyway to find it completely empty of anyone else so with a suspicious purse of her lips and narrowed oak coloured eyes she searched the area for any sign of the other woman.   
An inhuman hiss came from behind her and she smiled in anticipation as she spun around quickly before the other vampire could even think of attacking her.   
Rhea blindly wrapped her small hand round the doppelgänger’s thin neck with a squeeze before slamming the brunette against the brick wall of the alley with a sickening crack.   
“Ah!” the doppelgänger exclaimed in pain and surprise as her skull fractured at the solid contact of the brick wall beneath her and Rhea smirked a little in satisfaction before loosening her grip a little.   
The woman under her looked at her with large frightened dark brown eyes that reminded her so much of Tatia that it made her squirm uncomfortably. The brunette’s lower lip quivered a little in fear as she looked at the young honey haired woman that was holding her life in her hands and Rhea’s resolve faltered at the desperate gleam in her chocolate coloured eyes.   
“Who are you?” Katerina asked the other vampire in a small voice that made her cringe internally at how pathetic it sounded even to her own ears.   
“I’m Rheanna Mikaelson.” She announced in a calm voice as tilted her head to the side slight in consideration and Katerina’s eyes widened in terror as she recognised the family name of the Originals. “Thank you for having the good sense to be frightened.”   
“Please, please, just kill me.” the doppelgänger begged the older vampire for mercy as she realised that Rheanna was going to take her back to her brother’s to be punished and hot tears sprung to her eyes.   
“I’m not going to kill you, Katerina Petrova.” Rhea cooed at her softly as she gently wrapped a loose curl of Katerina’s dark brunette locks around a finger and the younger vampire subconsciously cringed at the contact.   
“You’re going to take me to Klaus.”   
“Wrong again, my little sobreviviente.” Rhea corrected her with a soft smile as she let the doppelgänger’s hair fall back against her shoulder gracefully and Katerina frowned at the pet name she had been given by one of the Original Twins. “I’m going to help you.”   
“Why would you want to help me? I betrayed your brother’s.” Katerina pointed out to her as though she didn’t already know and Rheanna just smiled at her as she took a step back from her so that she was able to move from the wall.   
“I understand why you would run, Katerina. Why would you sit around and wait for a practical stranger to spill your blood on some silly little rock? You are a fighter, Katerina. A survivor, a sobreviviente.”   
>>>>  
Rhea’s POV:  
I looked at the beautiful woman in front of me who looked exactly the same as the first time I met her except for the fashion choice, hairstyle and the innocence that was once in her chocolate brown eyes was replaced with a hard edge.  
Katerina smiled at my slightly with as a quick upturn of her lips and I smiled brightly at her as I pulled her into my arms so that she was wrapped in my tight embrace. She sighed loudly in mock exasperation as she wrapped her arm around my waist just as forcefully and when I pulled back from her slightly, I pressed an affectionate chaste kiss to her right cheek.   
“What are you doing her, my little sobreviviente?” I asked her firmly as I clasped my hands in her and watched as the hard edge in her deep brown eyes softened at the pet name I had always referred to her as. “Niklaus is in town and if he catches you….”  
“I know, I know.” Katerina agreed in a rush as she nodded her head feverishly and squeezed my hands in a comforting gesture even though she was the one in danger. I smiled at the girl I had come to love since meeting her in Spain 400 years ago and shook my head at what she called her ‘Petrova Fire’.   
“I’m sorry I can’t be more help.” I told her sincerely as I frowned in sympathy and she just waved a hand in a dismissive fashion as she rolled her pretty eyes at me with a smirk on her lips.   
“I wouldn’t ask you to speak for me, Rhea. I know that the last time you tried to vouch for me Klaus stuck a dagger in your heart for a decade.”   
“Luckily for me it was a boring decade. It is good to see you, Katerina.” I said to her as I pulled her into another long hug and I closed my eyes as tears sprung to my eyes.   
“I’ve got to go, Rhea.” Katerina whispered regrettably as I nodded in understanding as she pulled back from our embrace with a small smile on her lips before she disappeared into thin air and I was left with an amused smile on my lips at her antics.  
I chuckled lightly as I shook my head and walked back to the main street before making my way to Stefan’s old apartment.   
It didn’t take me long to arrive at the vacated apartment building that he had once lived in and I had to smile fondly at the sudden flood of memories that came to mind at the sight.   
My new high heel shoes clicked loudly against the tiled floors as I made my way up to the third floor where Stefan’s apartment once was and then turned down the familiar corridor that led to the apartment.   
I pushed open the heavy door to the rundown old apartment and was immediately shoved into the closest wall by an unseen force.   
“Ah!” I exclaimed in surprise as I smashed my skull in the wall behind me and I grimaced in pain as it spread through my skull.  
A rough hand wrapped around my throat tightly as I opened my eyes narrowly before allowing my bloodlust to overtake and push the attacker off of me with more force than necessary.  
“I’m sick of people attacking me today.” I hissed dangerously as I relaxed my features back into the human mask I wore and I frowned at the familiar body sprawled on the floor where I had thrown him.   
“I didn’t know it was you.” Stefan explained to me as he slowly sat up on his elbows with a scowl of pain and I grimaced as I took a step closer to him before holding out my hand to help him up.   
“And if you did, you’d still have attacked?” I guessed jokingly as he eyed my dainty hand hesitantly for a second because grasping it in his own and allowing me to help him to his feet.   
“No, I wouldn’t have.” He argued with me as he let go of my hand and I smiled slightly as I took a step backward to give him space.  
His light green eyes raked over my quickly in a way that I wasn’t sure I was meant to notice and I bit the corner of my lower lip as the familiar warm sensation of longing swelled in my stomach.   
He quickly turned his head away from me and started taking long strides towards the front door of his apartment. “We should get back to Klaus.”   
“I’m sorry!” I blurted out as he reached the door but froze when he heard my voice and then slowly turned around to eye me sceptically.   
“Why are you sorry?”   
“One, I’m sorry that Niklaus compelled away your memories back in the 20’s.” I started softly as I wandered over to the old dust covered couch that was to the side of the lounge room and then gracefully sat down in the middle as dust lifted under my weight. “I dislike compelling people, even humans, and only do it when necessary. It was wrong of my brother to take away something so personal and it was wrong of him to allow you to feel the guilt that went along with it. I know that you thought the holes in your memory were another Ripper binge.”   
“And the second thing? You said ‘one’.” He pointed out quietly after a moment of silence and the two of us just staring at each other. He crossed his arms over his broad chest as he leaned against the doorframe and I smiled gently at him as I recrossed my legs over one another.   
“Two, I’m sorry the uncompelled you.”   
“Why would you be sorry about that?” Stefan asked me incredulously as he took a step towards me on the couch and I glanced down at the ground nervously as I played with my fingers.   
“I know that you were in love with the doppelgänger Nik sacrificed in the ritual.” I said as I looked back up to meet his curious light green eyes and noticed how his whole body stiffened at the mention of the doppelgänger. “I’m sure that it must be very confusing to have all of the memories of the past suddenly flooding your mind, especially when you are grieving the loss of the woman you loved.”   
“….Thank you, Rhea.” He replied quietly after a moment of silence and I smiled softly with just a quick upturn of my lips before it faded. I stood from my place on the couch and sighed loudly as I looked around the room that I had just about lived in back in the 20’s.   
“This place hasn’t changed.” I murmured to myself as I smiled softly at the memories replaying in my mind and I heard Stefan chuckle a little behind me so I turned to face him with a small smile that he copied. “We should go meet up with Nik and Bekah.”   
>>>>  
Stefan and I walked into the nearly empty club together in silence and I smiled brightly when I saw a familiar looking person sitting at a table in the middle of the room surrounded by white pillar candles and her old grimore.   
“Well, well, ladies and gentleman, look what the cat dragged in.” I remarked playfully as I sauntered further into the room and three heads all turned to look at us in unison.   
Nik and Rebekah were lounging lazily on the bar a few metres away from where the witch us trying to work a spell and I spared then a quick glance before turning my attention back to my friend.   
“Holy damn. Rheanna Mikaelson, my favourite of the Original’s.” Gloria greeted me teasingly as Rebekah and Nik scowled at her and I laughed in amusement as I walked towards her with my arms opened wide for a hug. She smirked at me as she returned the hug and then pull away to walk back to the table in the middle of the room.   
“You left us.” Rebekah said to Stefan with a pout as she leaned back on her elbows on the bar top and I walked towards her and Nik with a smile on my lips.   
“Yeah, sorry. Retail therapy was making my head explode.” He explained his absence to them as I jumped up onto the bar stool next to Nik and tilted my head curiously as I watched Gloria quietly chant under her breath in Latin.   
“Tell me about it.” Nik uttered under his breath as he sipped from the beer bottle in his hand and I smirked a little at his obvious disgust for shopping.   
“What's she doing?” I asked out loud as I continued to watch the aging witch attempt to perform a spell and Nik turned his glare to the witch in front of us.   
“She's failing.”   
“It's hard to find something when you don't have anything to go on.” Gloria pointed out to him without opening her eyes as Nik rolled his baby blue eyes at her.   
“So use me. I only wore it for a thousand years.” I said as though it was obvious as I jumped gracefully down from my stool and strolled across the room towards the small table.   
“See? Now this one offers a solution.” Gloria exclaimed in relief as she opened her eyes with a sigh and I sat down on the edge of the table so that she could take my hand in her.   
“You know they’d be lost without me, Gloria.” I reminded the witch with a smirk towards my siblings who just rolled their eyes at me.   
“She's, uh, she's looking for the necklace, huh?” I heard Stefan ask nervously as I closed my eyes in concentration even though I wasn’t the one casting the spell.   
“I can sense something.” Gloria said distantly as she focused on something that we couldn’t see and I opened my eyes to glance down at her with an eyebrow quirked in question.   
She began chanting in Latin under her breath as we all watched her with bated breath and I sighed impatiently with my hand still in hers. She froze suddenly with her eyes opened wide before she dropped my hand quickly and it fell limply to my side as she looked over at my brother. “I found it.”   
“So where is it?” I asked her a little desperately as I leaned forward eagerly and she shook her head at me sadly because she knew how much the necklace meant to me.   
“It doesn't work like that, doll. I get images. There's a girl with her friends... “   
“Yes, a dead girl with dead friends, if we don't get our necklace back.” Rebekah interjected impatiently as she gracefully slipped down from the bar top and I threw her a reprimanding look that she shrugged her shoulders at.   
“Well, I'll have to dive back in to get the details.”   
“So dive.” Nik ordered her harshly as he walked over to where we were sitting in the middle of the room.   
“I need more time. And space. You're harshing my ju-ju.” Gloria told him with a raised eyebrow and I smirked at the bravery that she still processed after all this time.   
“We can wait.”   
“I'm sure we can. But that's not what she asked.” I pointed out to him sternly as I slid off the table to stand in between my brother and the witch I considered a friend. Nik stared down at me with hard blue eyes and I narrowed my eyes back at him as I placed my hand on my hip.   
“Hey. Hey, you know, why don't we just come back later? I'm hungry anyway. I'll let you pick who we eat.” Stefan offered as he came to stand next to us near the table and Nik glanced over his shoulder at Rebekah who shrugged before striding out of the bar without a backwards look.   
I rolled my eyes at his theatrics before I threw a smile at Gloria who nodded her head in thanks and then followed Stefan out of the bar with Rebekah at my side.   
>>>>  
Later that night after an afternoon of reading magazines in an attempt to catch up on modern popular culture, I walked into the warehouse where Niklaus was storing the rest of our family members.  
I froze for a second in the doorway when I saw Stefan standing next to one of the oak wood coffins before I took a deep breath that I didn’t really need and strolling into the room as though I wasn’t internally shaking with nerves.   
“You're back. Finally. Nik and Rebekah went to check on the witch.” I told him carelessly as I strolled over to the same coffin he was standing next to and he looked at me with a ghost of a smile on his lips.  
I bit the corner of my lower lip as I looked away from his memorising light green eyes and looked down at coffin my hand was resting on. “Dreary, isn't it? The family cargo.”   
“Hmm. Why don't you undagger them?” he asked me curiously as he followed my gaze to the coffin and I smiled without an humour as I looked back up at the man I once loved.   
“Because he would hunt me down and kill me. He's a vindictive little bastard, my brother.”   
“But you still care about him. Why?” Stefan asked as he turned his body to face me with his arms crossed over his board chest and I smiled sadly at him before looking away.   
“Well, I hated him for a long time. It was exhausting.” I told him with an eye roll as I pulled myself up onto the coffin and he smirked at me as he sat down next to me.   
“You know, when I met you two, you were all on the run.”   
“Also exhausting.” I said with a sigh as I rested my fingers on my lap and kicked my feet a little against the wooden coffin.   
“Who were you running from?” he asked me suddenly and I felt my internal sensor go off in warning that someone was asking about Mikael.   
“What do you mean?” I asked him with what I hoped was I confused expression as I pursed my lips and tilted my head to the side curiously.   
“Last night I saw you, there was a man looking for you. You all seemed afraid. I just... I wouldn't think Klaus would be afraid of anybody.”   
“No one in this world is truly fearless, Stefan. Not even Niklaus.” I explained softly to him as I looked away from him and out to the door that led to the outside world.   
“Who was that man?” he asked me gently in what I used to call his ‘persuasion voice’ and I frowned because back in the 20’s he could get me to agree to anything when he used that voice.   
“I can't. Please.” I begged him helplessly as I slid down off of the coffin and ran a hand throw my messy honey coloured hair. “If Nik knew we were talking about this, he would...”  
“No, no, no, I'm sorry.” He told me as he hopped down from the coffin and stood next to me with his hands resting on my shoulders to keep me in place. “Just forget I asked. Ok?”   
“Niklaus told me that you're only with him because he saved your brother.” I pointed out randomly to him and his eyebrows drew together in confusion at the sudden conversation change.   
“It's true.”   
“I think he secretly admires that about you. You'd sacrifice anything for family. Don't tell him I told you that.” I whispered teasingly with a playful smile as he took a step closer to me so that our bodies were almost touching and I could feel the non-existent heat rising from his body.   
“Your secret... is safe with me.” he whispered back to me in the same tone and I was immediately brought back to our time in the 20’s when we would lying around all day joking with one another but there was something missing now. His light green eyes were missing the mirth that they once possessed and I didn’t know if it was gone forever or if it was only gone for me.   
“I can always tell when you're lying, Stefan.” I reminded him sadly as I took a step away from him and he frowned in confusion as I shook my head in disappointment to my own traitorous thoughts.   
“What? I'm not...” he tried to argue with me just as Nik and Rebekah came strolling into the warehouse with angry scowls on their faces and I took another deliberate step away from Stefan.   
“Gloria's gone. She's cleared out. We need to find a new witch immediately.” Nik announced as he strode into the nearly empty warehouse but then pulled Rebekah to a stop with him when he saw Stefan with panicked expression and my sad one. “What's going on?”   
“Something's wrong. He was asking about Mikael. He's not with us, Nik. I can sense it.” I told him honestly as I frowned at Stefan and he tried to deny it but before any words could leave his mouth my brother had snapped his neck affectively rendering him unconscious for the immediate future.


	3. The Reckoning

3rd Person POV:  
Rebekah Mikaelson lounged on one of the wooden coffins that her older hybrid brother, Niklaus carted around in the back of a moving truck because they contained the three remaining members of their family.   
She had been practically ordered by her brother to wait there with an unconscious Stefan Salvatore because he was worried about leaving the ever compassionate Rheanna with the man she still had lingering feeling for despite finding out about his betrayal. Niklaus had been understandably upset when Rhea had revealed her doubts about Stefan’s loyalty so three siblings had hightailed back to the supernatural epicentre known as Mystic Falls.   
It hadn’t taken the Originals long to realise what the young male vampire had been hanging onto and Niklaus was both happy and angry to find that the doppelgänger hadn’t stayed dead from being sacrifice because he now knew what was causing his hybrids to malfunction.  
Rebekah studied her carefully painted purple nails as she waited for Stefan to wake up from her older brother continuously breaking his neck all afternoon.   
She glanced over at handsome unconscious man that her sister had fallen in love with back in the 20’s and shook her head in disappointment at the man that was once her friend because if there was one thing Rebekah Mikaelson couldn’t stand it was someone hurting her twin sister.   
Her head snapped up from her hands when as heard the faint sound of moaning coming from where the youngest Salvatore lay and saw that he was blinking his light green eyes in confusion.   
“Oh, he lives.” She said to him in mock surprise as she redid the lid of the purple nail polish in her hand and he looked over at her with a confused frown on his lips.   
“What happened?” Stefan asked her as he pushed himself up on his knees weakly and Rebekah frowned at him in fake sympathy as she was angry that he had lied to her twin sister and brother about the death of the doppelgänger.   
Rebekah had never cared much for any of the doppelgänger’s, starting with the original Petrova Tatia who had played her brothers Niklaus and Elijah against each other back when they were all human.   
“You took a beating. My brother's been breaking your neck all afternoon. Quite the temper.”   
“Why did he bring us back to Mystic Falls?” Stefan asked her as he tried to push himself up to his feet although he knew the reason they had returned to his hometown but prayed that he was wrong and that Elena was safe from Klaus.   
“You can stop playing dumb now. It didn't take him long to figure out what you've been hiding.” Rebekah told him as she rolled her cerulean blue eyes at him and gracefully slipped down off of the coffin she had been sitting on.   
“I'm not hiding anything. I've done everything Klaus has asked me to.” He argued with her firmly as he stood up on two feet and narrowed his light green eyes at the blonde as she approached him.   
“No, you just failed to mention that the doppelgänger's still alive. Rhea was quite hurt that you lied to her.” Rebekah taunted him as she walked a few steps closer to him knowing full well that he was watching her every move and then she smirked when he flinched slightly at the mention of her sister because it was obvious he still felt something for the honey haired Original.   
“Where is Klaus now?” Stefan asked her with false authority as he tried to ignore the guilt that he felt at the mention of Rhea because she had been nothing but understanding to him still she had woken up.   
“With any luck, ripping that cow's bloody head off.” She spat at him harshly as her blue eyes narrowed at him and he stiffened at the mention of harm coming to Elena before he rushed at her with vampire speed.  
Rebekah gasped in surprise as his hard body slammed into her and the two of them fell out of trunk on to the asphalted road underneath them making Stefan landed on top of the blonde as he naively wrapped his hand around her throat.   
“Where is she?”  
“You really do love her, don't you?” Rebekah asked him rhetorically a little breathlessly since he still had his hand around her thin throat before she used her superior Original Vampire speed and strength to throw him off of her roughly. She pushed him up against the side of the truck before grabbing a crowbar that was laying now the edge of the truck door and then grabbed Stefan by the collar of his shirt. “Consider me a protective big sister.” She whispered into his ear unsympathetically before driving the end of the crowbar into his stomach and making him cry out in pain while she smirked in satisfaction.   
>>>>  
Rhea’s POV:  
I tapped my high heeled foot impatiently as I waited for Nik to find the doppelgänger at the Mystic Falls high school while I waited in the gymnasium for him to join me.   
Some for the high school students were in the in the gymnasium placing red plastic cups on the wooden ground for some reason that I didn’t understand.   
While Nik had spent the day continuously snapping Stefan’s neck as punishment for lying to him all summer while Bekah and I searched for the reason behind the lies.   
It had been a surprise when we stumbled on an exact replica of Tatia and Katerina at one of the only food retailers in Mystic Falls.   
“Not until I know I'm right. But I do have ways of making you suffer.” I heard my older brother say to someone right outside the gymnasium door and my head snapped up in time to see him strolling in with his hand wrapped around the doppelgänger’s forearm.  
I looked out from behind the bleachers I had been hiding behind so that the human teenagers wouldn’t freak out about a stranger being in their school.   
“Attention, seniors. You have officially been busted. Prank night is over. Head on home.” He called out to the humans in a fake American accent that made me smile in genuine amusement and I stepped out of my hiding place so that I was leaning against the brick wall with my arms crossed over my chest.   
“You two. I remember you.” Nik said to a male and female student in his normal British accented voice and I immediately became wary about his intention because I hated harming children.   
“I'm sorry. Who are you?” the female human asked him curiously as she tilted her head to the side in question and the human boy foolishly stepped in front of her slightly in order to protect her from the unknown man.   
“Oh, don't worry, I wasn't in my right head last time we met.” My brother answered her dismissively as he dragged the doppelgänger closer to the unnamed girl and then stared deeply into her eyes so that the compulsion would take effect. “Lift your foot up, please, Dana.” He compelled her with a charming smile on his lips and I frowned in displeasure as I watched him turn his attention to the male. “If she drops her foot, Chad, I want you to beat her to death. Understood?”   
“Don't, Klaus. You don't have to hurt anybody.” The doppelgänger tried to plead with my brother desperately as she watched in horror as the other teens complied with his wishes.   
“Oh, come on, love. Of course I do.” He told her with a sickening smile on his lips and I shook my head in disgust at my brother as I silently left the gymnasium in order to find Stefan.   
I used my vampire speed to head directly to the moving truck that Nik had driven to Mystic Falls and then slowed down in the truck came into sight.  
I gasped at the sight of Stefan unconscious on the road with a metal crowbar lodged in his stomach before running to his side and immediately pulling out the crowbar easily.   
I crouched down on my knees next to his side as I gently brushed a fallen piece of his tousled light brown hair away from his forehead and scowled at the thought of whoever hurt the man that I still seemed to love despite myself.   
“Come on, Stefan.” I whispered softly with a worried frown on my lips as I waited for him to regain consciousness and then sighed in relief when his eye lids started fluttering to reveal his light green eyes.   
“Rhea…” he murmured quietly in confusion as I smiled slightly in reassurance and helped him sit up on his own as he blinked groggily at me.   
“Come on, sweets. We gotta go if you want to save your doppelgänger.” I told him sympathetically as I stood up from my crouch next to him and he snapped his head around to face me in a panic.  
He instantly stood up from the road with a grief stricken expression and I frowned as I felt my heart crack a little as I realised that he really was in love with the doppelgänger before I replaced it with a mask of indifference. “Nik has her. We should go.”   
“Rhea, I’m so…”  
“Save it, Stefan. I really don’t want to hear your apologies at the moment.” I interrupted him shortly as I refused to let any of my emotions show on my face but it was hard to do when his memorising green eyes radiated regret. I felt my resolve melt as I sighed audibly and ran my hand through my messed up hair before looking back at him with a soft smile on my lips. “You shouldn’t apologise for being in love.”   
“I really do love her, Rheanna.” He told me honestly with a small smile on his delectable lips and I bit my lower lips as I nodded my head slowly.   
“I know. I can tell by the look in your eye because it’s how you used to look at me.” I said sadly as I shook my head at him with a smile and then looked back at the school where Nik and the doppelgänger were waiting for us.   
>>>>  
Elena’s POV:  
I was crouched down on the gym’s wooden floor next to Dana and Chad from my biology class as Klaus lounged halfway up the bleacher watching us with a sick smile on his face. I grasped Chad’s hand in mine as Dana slightly wavered on one foot because she was getting tired.   
“Keep it up.” Klaus ordered her in an amused tone of voice and I scowled at him in disgust as I slowly stood up from my place next to Chad being careful not to bump over Dana.  
I stared up at the man that had killed my aunt Jenna and me before leaving town with Stefan and all I felt as hatred directed at him. I had spent all summer searching for my boyfriend only to find that he didn’t want to be found and all I wanted was to tell him that I loved him. I knew that if Klaus was here in Mystic Falls, then Stefan had to be here as well because the only other alternative was unacceptable.   
“Where's Stefan? What did you do to him?” I asked the Original Hybrid harshly as I glared at him through narrowed eyes but he just smirked at me as though he was amused by my brave act.   
“Stefan's on a time out.” He told me as his light blue eyes twinkled in delight at something I didn’t understand but just as I opened my mouth to question him the swinging double doors opened and Bonnie and Matt watched into the room.   
“Bonnie, get out of here!” I screamed at her in warning as my eyes widened in fear that my friends were in danger and they both froze when they saw me standing there.   
“Ah, I was wondering when you'd show up. Now we can get started.” Klaus announced as he jumped gracefully down from the bleachers and moved closer to them with a smirk on his lips. His light blue eyes landed on the teenagers next to me as he pointed at them with a finger.   
“Ah, Dana, why don't you relax? You and Chad sit tight. I assume you're the reason Elena's still walking around alive?” he asked Bonnie in a faux friendly tone of voice and I scowled at the back of his head as my best friend glared at him determinately.   
“That's right. If you want to blame someone, blame me.” the young witch said as she crossed her arms over her chest resolutely and Klaus shrugged his broad shoulders in a disinterest.   
“Oh, there's no need for blame, love. Just your witchy interference seems to have caused some undesirable side effects. And since you caused the problem, I'm going to have you find the fix.”   
“Get off of me!” I heard Tyler shout so I turned my head to in time to see him being dragged into the gym by a blonde haired girl who looked to be about our age.   
“Hush now.” She scolded him in a British accented that reminded me of Klaus so I gaped in horror as I realised that she must have been another Original Vampire.   
“I'd like you all to meet my sister Rebekah. Word of warning... She can be quite mean.” Klaus explained with a cheerful smile as he confirmed me theory and the blonde girl, Rebekah narrowed her matching blue eyes at her brother.   
“Don't be an ass.” She snapped at him as she threw Tyler into his waiting arms and I gasped in horror that another one of my friends was in danger because of me.   
“Leave him alone!” I demanded loudly as I took a step closer to them and my eyes widened in fright at what was going to happen to us all.   
“I'm going to make this very simple... Every time I attempt to turn a werewolf into a vampire hybrid, they die during the transition. It's quite horrible, actually.” Klaus started to explain to us before pausing to bite into his own wrist before shoving it into Tyler’s mouth as the werewolf struggled in his hold.  
“I need you to find a way to save my hybrids, Bonnie. And for Tyler's sake... You better hurry.” He concluded with a manic smile before pulling his wrist away from Tyler’s mouth and leaving scarlet blood around his mouth as he spluttered trying to get the blood out of his mouth.  
Klaus’s hands wrapped around the werewolves neck before snapping it and Bonnie, Matt and I all stared in shock as our friend fell to the floor in a heap. Matt and Bonnie rushed over to Tyler’s prone body as I stood in shock not able to move to his side.   
“He killed him.” Matt said numbly as he knelt down next to his fallen best friend and I shook my head sadly at him in denial.   
“He's not dead. Klaus's blood will turn him into a vampire.” I explained to him quietly as I stared in horror at the hybrid in question and he just smiled at the scene in front of him.   
“And if Bonnie's successful, he'll live through his transition. Go on, then. Go and fetch your grimoires and enchantments and what-not. I'll hold on to Elena... For safe-keeping.” Klaus told them as he walked over to me and grabbed my forearm to stop my from moving.  
I glanced over at Bonnie who was staring at me in question making me nodded my head at her to go before she grabbed Matt’s hand in her and left the gym.  
I sighed in relief that my friends were out of immediate danger as the blonde female Original strolled over to me casually with a weird look on her face.   
“So this is the latest doppelgänger. The original one was much prettier.” She said to her brother in a haughty tone as she examined me shrewdly through narrowed cerulean eyes and I squirmed a little under her uncomfortable stare.   
“Enough, Rebekah. By the way, where is your better half?” Klaus asked her curiously as he looked around the room as though whoever they were talking about would just appear out of nowhere and I looked between them in confusion.   
“Where do you think?” she asked him knowingly with a smirk in my direction that I didn’t understand and Klaus laughed a little as he nodded his head at her answer.   
“Take the wolf boy elsewhere, would you?” he asked her a tone that suggested that ‘no’ wasn’t really an option before she gave me a tight smile and then grabbed Tyler’s arm so she could drag his limp body out of the gym. Klaus sighed dramatically at his sister’s antics as he moved to stand behind me. “Just ignore her. Petty little thing.”   
“She’s a lot nicer than you.” I spat at him venomously but he just chuckled at me as he walked back towards the bleachers.   
“I’m nicer than the lot of them…” an unfamiliar female voice with a British accent corrected me from behind and I quickly spun around to see a beautiful honey haired, dark brown eyed young woman strolling into gym with Stefan walking directly behind her.   
>>>>  
Rhea’s POV:  
I stalked towards the wide double doors of the gymnasium with Stefan walking behind me silently and I pursed my lips together in frustration because I could felt his presence without him being in my eye line.   
My high heels tapped noisily on the linoleum floor as Stefan’s side gently brushed against mine and I had to fight the shiver that threatened to run through my body at the contact.   
“She’s a lot nicer than you.” I heard the unmistakable voice of the doppelgänger say spitefully to who I assumed was my brother and smirked to myself in amusement.   
“She has spunk, Stefan.” I whispered softly in approval as I snuck a look at him through the corner of my eye and caught him smiling slight at the sound of her voice.  
We approached the double doors and I pushed them open easily with not even a quarter of my vampire strength.   
“I’m nicer then the lot of them.” I announced our presence as I walked into the gymnasium and everyone in the room turned to look at us with a mixture of expressions.   
Nik gave us a smirk of amusement from where he lounged on the metal bleachers while the compelled humans looked at us blankly and the doppelgänger’s face froze a combination of relief and confusion.   
“Stefan...” the doppelgänger breathed out in relief when she caught sight of estranged boyfriend but Stefan didn’t even blink at her as he approached my older brother and I leaned against the brick wall with my arms over my chest so that I could see every inch of the room.   
“Come to save your damsel, mate? Or have you and Rhea made up from your little spat?” Nik asked him with genuine amusement dancing in his light blue eyes and I scoffed at him as I rolled my eyes at him from my position on the wall.   
“I came to ask for your forgiveness. And pledge my loyalty.” Stefan corrected him as he ignored the comment about me and Nik tilted his head to the side in thoughts as he peered down at his friend.   
“Well, you broke that pledge once already.”  
“Elena means nothing to me anymore. And whatever you ask of me... I will do.” He said in a determined voice as he glanced at me once so quickly that I almost missed it before looking back at my brother.   
“Fair enough. Let's drink on it. Kill them. What are you waiting for? Kill them.” My brother ordered him and I stood up straighter with my eyes wide as he pointed a finger towards the innocent teenagers that were watching the interaction warily.   
“No! Stefan, don't. He's not going to hurt me. He already said...” the doppelgänger pleaded with her boyfriend as her own pretty brown eyes went wide in horror and Nik pushed her backwards so that she fell onto the wooden floor. Stefan immediately went to attack Nik with his vampire features fully protruding and I gasped in worry as my brother grabbed him by the throat.   
“She means nothing to you? Your lies just keep piling up.” Nik hissed at him through narrowed blue eyes and I used my vampire speed to move next to them.   
“Let go, Nik.” I ordered him sternly as I pulled his hand from Stefan’s neck and I was surprised that he actually let me because I knew that I stood no chance next to his hybrid strength.   
“Let her go! I'll do whatever you want, you have my word!” Stefan said to me brother as I pulled him back a step away from Nik and winced slightly at the desperation in his voice.   
“Your word doesn't mean much. I lived by your word all summer, during which time I never had to resort to this... Stop fighting.” Nik compelled him as he took a step closer to us and I shook my head at him in denial.   
“Don't do this, don't do this.” Stefan begged him frantically as he shook his head at him as well and I gripped on to Nik’s forearm as I tried to stop him off doing this.   
“I didn't want to. All I wanted was your allegiance. Now I'm going to have to take it.”   
“Don't...Don't...” he repeated over again as tears filled his light green eyes and my chest started aching at the pain in his eyes.  
“Please, Nik. No.” I begged him as my nails dug into his arm to try and get his attention but he locked his eyes onto Stefan.   
“You will do exactly as I say when I say it. You will not run, you will not hide, you will simply just obey.” Nik compelled him with a straight face and an emotionless mask in place to hide his pain because Stefan considered a friend.   
“No. Stefan!” the doppelgänger yelled as she watched Stefan watch become completely black under my brother’s compulsion.   
“Now kill them. Ripper.” Nik told him as he took a step back from Stefan with my arm gripped in his hand so that I couldn’t interfere as Stefan’s fangs elongated due to bloodlust and he rushed over to the teenage girl to the side of the room.   
“No! No, Stefan.” I called out to him in a panic as I struggled in Nik’s grasp and the man I used to love continued to drain the blood out of young girl.  
As the corpse of the girl fell to the ground in a heap, I relaxed against Nik’s chest in defeat as I watched sadly as Stefan moved on to the young human male. Nik placed an arm around my shoulders as we watched Stefan sink his fangs into the boy and the doppelgänger watched in horror.   
“It's always nice to see a vampire in his true element. The species has become such a broody lot.” Nik said pleasantly as he squeezed my shoulder and I rolled my eyes at his comment as I watched Stefan anxiously.   
“No. You did this to him.” The doppelgänger spat at him angrily as she narrowed her deep brown eyes at us in disgust.   
“I invited him to the party, love. He's the one dancing on the table.”   
“Stefan hates dancing on tables. He always said it was pedestrian.” I commented absently as I watched the subject of our conversation in a morbid fascination and I turned my head to see the doppelgänger staring at me with an unreadable look on her pretty face.   
The double doors of the gymnasium smashed open so I snapped my head up to see Rebekah storming into the room with a silver cell phone in her hand and a scowl on her lips. I scrunched my eyebrows together in confusion as she stalked towards me before shoving the cell phone into my hand silently and shooting the doppelgänger a heated glare.  
I took the phone silently and sighed as I looked down at the digital photograph of the doppelgänger and Stefan acting very much like a couple in love.   
“Why are you…?” I started to ask her angrily at thought that my twin sister would rub my face in my ex-boyfriend’s happy relationship before I saw something familiar hanging around the doppelgänger’s neck.  
I narrowed my eyes at the picture before looking up at a confused Elena and storming towards her with the phone out for her to see. “Where is it?! Where's my necklace?”   
“What are you talking about?” Nik asked me in a bored voice when he saw me stalking towards the doppelgänger and I shoved the phone at him so that he could see for himself as I passed.   
“She has my necklace. Look.”   
“Well, well. More lies.” He scoffed as he looked towards Stefan angrily but all my attention was on the human girl that was standing in front of me.   
“Where...is it?” I spat out through clenched teeth as I let anger seep into my words and I watched with satisfaction as she visibly pale a little in fright.   
“I don't have it anymore.” She told me in a shaky voice as her hand moved to touch where the necklace used to rest and I growled inhumanly in fury that my mother’s necklace lost.   
“You're lying!” I shouted at her in denial as I allowed my bloodlust to overtake me and my fangs elongated before I rushed towards the doppelgänger.  
I sunk my teeth into her thin neck viciously as she screamed in pain and I let her deliciously sweet blood invade all my senses until someone stronger than I pulled on my shoulders so that I was torn away from her.   
“Knock it off!” Nik yelled at me angrily for hurting the doppelgänger when he still might need her for his hybrids but I was too upset about my missing necklace to be too concerned about that.   
“Make her tell me where it is, Nik!” I demanded furiously as I glared at doppelgänger bitch that was clutching her neck wound from where she was sprawled on the wooden floor.   
Nik looked at me for a minute with something close to sympathy shining in his light blue eyes and I gave him a pleading look before I turned away towards Rebekah who wrapped a comforting arm around my shoulders.  
I watched anxiously as Nik crouched down in front of the doppelgänger with a stern expression on his face and she instinctively moved back a little at the proximity.   
“You haven’t been properly introduced yet. Elena, this is my other sister Rheanna. Rhea, this is Stefan’s new girl Elena. Now, where's the necklace, sweetheart? Be honest.”   
“I'm telling the truth. Katherine stole it.” Elena said to him as she quickly glanced at me before moving back to him and I lifted my head when I heard my friends name coming from her mouth.   
“Katerina. Of course. Well, that's unfortunate. If we had the necklace it would make things a whole lot easier for your witch, but since we're doing this the hard way, let's put a clock on it, shall we?” Nik asked her rhetorically as he stood up from his crouch and moved towards the electronic billboard controller. He pressed a few buttons on the machine until the digital scoreboard above the basketball hoop activated and red number’s spelled out 20.00.   
“20 minutes. If Bonnie hasn't found a solution by then, I want you to feed again. Only this time, I want you to feed on Elena. You know you want to.” Nik compelled Stefan once more before turning his attention to me and Rebekah as we were silently watching the scene playing out in front of us.   
“No, Klaus! Don't do this to him!” Elena yelled at him angrily as she took a step closer to him before freezing in place and I glared at her through narrowed eyes as Rebekah grabbed my hand in hers.   
“No one leaves. If she tries to run, fracture her spine.” Niklaus ordered Stefan sternly as he pointed Elena blindly before grabbing onto my other arm and steering us towards the wide set of double doors.   
>>>>  
After Nik left Rebekah and I to our own devices, we decided to go and wait with the werewolf and his vampire girlfriend in one of the empty classrooms  
Rebekah pushed open the door so that it slammed open with a loud clash that frightened the pretty blonde vampire with gorgeous blue eyes that was leaning on the table next to the dead werewolf.   
The blonde girl glared at my sister as we entered but Rebekah just smirked back at her while I rolled my oak coloured eyes at them as I walked over to the teacher’s desk at the front of the room.   
“And what’s your problem, Miss Grumpy-Pants?” Bekah asked me in a cheerful tone as she strolled over to lean on the desk next to me as I gracefully jumped up to sit on the desk.   
I turned my head to glare at her through narrowed eyes but she just smiled at me sympathetically so I knew that she really wanted me to vent to her like she always did to me. I felt the tears building up in my eyes as I let the events of tonight wash over me like a tidal wave and I pursed my lips together in a hard line.   
“I can’t believe he gave my necklace to that doppelgänger bitch!” I practically screamed in frustration as I jumped down from the desk with a loud thump and the unnamed blonde baby vampire jumped in surprise at my sudden outburst as her head snapped up to look at me with wide blue eyes.  
“My necklace was around the wrench’s neck. I can’t believe that my necklace was around her neck. Stefan gave my necklace away. I know that he didn’t remember me because of Nik but I am so angry at him.” I ranted in a rush as I paced up and down the room restlessly while waving my arms in the air dramatically and Rebekah and blonde vampire watched me in rapt attention. I clutched my throat where my necklace used to rest as the tears silently rolled down my cheeks.   
“My necklace. My necklace. My necklace.” I kept repeating quietly as I sobbed uncontrollably and sunk down to my knees while Rebekah moved at a vampire speed to hold me while I cried.  
After 1000 thousand years wearing that necklace every single day, I felt practically naked without it around my neck where it had been hanging still the day that my mother had given it to me when I was 14 and she found out that her gift for magic had been passed down to me  
My sobs eventually died out while Rebekah cooed nonsense words in my ear low enough that the other blonde in the room could hear them and then I gave a small humourless laugh as I dried my cheeks of tears.   
“You’re going to be okay, Rhea.” Rebekah whispered to me softly as she gently moved a lock of my honey coloured hair behind my ear and I nodded absently as I took an unnecessary breath to calm myself down further.  
I stood up from my crouch on the linoleum floor gracefully and moved to retake my seat on the teacher desk as Bekah jumped up next to me.  
I looked over at the handsome werewolf that was lying on the table dead with the pretty blonde soothingly rubbing his head even though he wouldn’t feel it.   
“A vampire dating a werewolf.” I stated softly as tilted my head to the side curiously and the blonde snapped her head around to look at me with wide blue eyes filled with tears. “You’re either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid.”   
“I’m incredibly in love.” She replied to me with a fierce edge in her eyes and her voice that made me smile at her genuinely.   
“A little bit of both then.” I said to her with a slight smile on my lips that she returned just as the werewolf in question began to wake up and the blonde turned back around when we all heard a sharp gasp come from his body. I watched as the handsome werewolf opened his eyes widely and the blonde moved to his side quickly.   
“Where am I? What happened?” he asked her in a deep voice as she rubbed her hand over his head in a soothing gesture.   
“Tyler.” The blonde breathed out in a sadly sigh as she prepared herself for telling the man that she loved his was either going to be a vampire or he was going to die.   
“Don't be shy about it.” Rebekah told her in a bored voice as she examined her fingernails with interest and I rolled my eyes with a smile at her blunt nature.   
“What's going on?” the werewolf, Tyler asked in a worried voice as he looked between the three of us as though he could read the answers to his questions on our faces but I just kept my face blank because I felt that he should hear such news from a loved one.   
“Klaus is turning you into a vampire. A hybrid. You're in transition.” The blonde told him nervously as she clasped his large hand in her smaller one and I had to look away from the intimate gesture because he made my heart hurt for a time when Stefan and I were that in love.   
“Don't leave out the hard part, sweets. You'll only survive if your witch is successful. If not... You're pretty much dead.” Rebekah interrupted her explanation and I hit her arm in reprimand as Tyler started panicking at the prospect of dying tonight.   
“You're going to be ok. Ok? It's going to be ok.” The blonde tried to sooth him as she rubbed circles on his back and glared at Rebekah for telling him so candidly.   
“I wonder how she's doing. Tick tock goes the gym clock.”   
“Rebekah.” I scolded her lightly as I turned my head to face her and she just shrugged back at me innocently as I shook my head at her.  
I heard the door to the classroom open and looked up to see Nik walking into the room with a vial in his hand so I scrunched my eyebrows together in confusion.   
“Well, the verdict's in. The original witch says the doppelgänger should be dead.” He announced to us as he stepped further into the room and I jumped down from the table with a smile on my lips as Rebekah slid down next to me with a smirk.   
“Does that mean we can kill her?” I asked him in excitement as Rebekah grinned widely but Nik shook his head at us rejection to our question.   
“No, I'm fairly certain it means the opposite.”   
“What?!” Rebekah and I asked in unison as we both pouted at him but he kept his light blue eyes locked onto Tyler as he walked over to the table he was still lying on.   
“Call it a hunch...” he murmured quietly as he showed the test tube of scarlet red blood to Tyler and I moved to catch the blonde when she moved to protect him from my brother so that she wouldn’t get hurt because I was starting to like her fire. “Elena's blood. Drink it.”   
“No! No, no, no, Tyler, don't!” the blonde shouted pleadingly from my arms and I cooed at her in sympathy as she struggled in my hold.   
“If he doesn't feed, he'll die anyway, love. Consider this an experiment.” Nik told her as he looked up to meet her eyes and I noticed that he faltered for a second at the sight of her before glancing away quickly.   
Tyler struggled to control his bloodlust but soon it won out as it always did and he took the small vial from my brother’s hand so that he could drink it. He guzzled the blood as the blonde relaxed in defeat in my arms in a soothingly ran my hand up and down her arm as we watched her boyfriend wither on the ground in pain.  
His screams echoed around the room as he hold his head in agony until his face change and we gasped to the sight before us. Tyler had fangs and prominent veins around his eyes like any normal vampire but his eyes were a luminous amber coloured colour due to his werewolf side.   
“Well, that's a good sign.”


	4. Smells Like Teen Spirit

3rd Person POV:

Damon Salvatore walked down the stairs of the Salvatore Boarding house earlier in the morning and paused momentarily when he saw two dead brunette young women lying recklessly on the bottom step with scarlet red blood seeping on to the rug underneath them. His handsome face twisted into a grimace as he carefully stepped of the bodies and made his way into the living room where his light haired younger brother was sitting on the couch. His striking blue eyes narrowed at the three young women in the middle of the living room that were playing a game of Twister while Stefan lounged on the couch with the spinner. The scent of delicious blood filled his senses so he shifted his gaze to the open wounds on each of the girls as they dripped crimson red droplets onto the Twister mat underneath them.

"Uh-oh. Alexandra, left hand, please." Stefan called out to one of the girls in a mocking voice and Damon watched with a raised eyebrow as a pretty blonde walked over to his brother to offer him her slim wrist. The younger Salvatore allowed his bloodlust to overtake his face so that his fangs came out before he sunk his teeth into the girl's wrist greedily.

"Hey, the two brunettes on the staircase owe me a Persian rug." Damon announced his presence in an annoyed voice and Stefan unclasped his teeth from the girl's wrist to look over at his brother with a cocky smirk on his lips.

"You mean, they owe us a Persian rug? It's my house, too, brother. Ooh! Would you like a spin?" he asked rhetorically as he held the Twister spinner out towards his brother and the compelled girl on his lap moved back to the game.

"So this is what Klaus had in mind when he compelled you to protect Elena?" the elder Salvatore asked spitefully as he ignored the question and Stefan shrugged his broad shoulders carelessly as he spun the Twister spinner again with his finger.

"These ladies are helping me be all that I can be." He replied with a smirk but Damon could see the flat look in his brother's light green eyes that confirmed his lack of humanity and just as he opened his mouth to retort with a sarcastic comment the front doorbell rang loudly.

Stefan and Damon both looked at the door in confusion because everyone they knew would know to just walk into the Boarding House so they shared a look before Damon moved towards the front door to open it. He wasn't sure what he expected when he opened the front door but two beautiful unknown teenage girls was not very high on the list. He eyed them suspiciously through narrowed electric blue eyes as the blonde girl sighed impatiently at been left waiting for him to let them in while the honey haired girl nudged her gently in a silent order. The blonde haired girl had beautiful cerulean blue eyes and a roundish face with full pink lips that made her look like a movie star and practically radiated with the confidence to match. While the honey haired girl with oak coloured eyes that looked slightly like melted rivers of chocolate give off a more mature and worldly vibe but it was easy to see that the girls were related in some fashion.

"Hmm." One of the girls cleared their throat loudly to get Damon's attention and he was immediately snapped out of his thoughts.

"Where's Stefan?" The blonde haired girl asked impatiently in a British accented voice as she pushed passed him with a hard nudge to his shoulder and the honey haired girl rolled her eyes with a heavy sigh like she was used to this kind of behaviour.

"She's means, 'Could you tell me if Stefan's here?' with a 'please' at the beginning and a 'thank you' at the end." The honey haired girl said in a matching British accent as she also walked passed him without waiting for an invite inside and Damon's forehead scrunched together as he tried to place where he knew that accent from.

"Who the hell are you two?" Damon asked them both snappishly as followed their movements with his eyes but they ignored him as they stalked into the lounge room where Stefan was still lounging on the couch listening to the conversation at the door.

"Ooh! I love this game!" the honey haired girl cheered enthusiastically as she paused in the doorway to the living room and Stefan chuckled a little at her exuberance.

"I remember." Stefan said to her with a sly smile as he raised his glass of blood at her in a silent salute and she just laughed softly in a sound that made Stefan think of church bells tinkling.

"This is not how we used to play." She pointed out to him in an amused voice as she wriggled a perfectly manicured finger at the mess of a Twister mat in the middle of the floor and this time it was Stefan's turn to laugh at the memory of the two of them playing naked twister back in the 20's.

"What are you doing here?" Damon asked the two girls harshly before Stefan and the honey haired girl could take a walk down memory lane and the blonde turned her head to look at him quickly before glancing back at his brother.

"He left us here. Our brother actually left us here." The blonde said in an unbelieving tone to the youngest Salvatore and Damon frowned at the two of them intently.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Your tone implies that I'm actually supposed to care." Stefan responded carelessly as he waved a hand in the air dismissively and the honey haired girl leaned on the doorjamb with her arms crossed over her chest as Damon turned to look at the two of them with an unbelieving stare as he studied them intently.

"You're Klaus's sisters?" he asked them incredulously as he looked them up and down in appreciation as he tried to mask the fear that two Originals were in town with Elena. The blonde haired girl turned her head around to look him up and down with a satisfied gleam in her cerulean blue eyes as the honey haired girl offered him a slight smile from her position on the door frame.

"Rebekah. Pleasure, I'm sure. Which one's my room?" she asked Stefan as she turned back around to face him with an expectant look on her face and the honey haired girl chuckled lightly as she ducked her head in amusement.

"You're not staying here." Stefan told her with a laugh as he sipped his drink while subtly glancing at the other amused girl out of the corner of his eye. Rebekah twisted her head around to look at Damon with a pointed look but he just stared at her blankly so she swivelled her head back and forth to include both brother's in her next sentence.

"Rude. Both of you. I'll see to it myself." She said to them before she strolled out of the room towards the large staircase that led upstairs.

"So I guess she's staying here." Stefan declared to his brother in a fake happy tone and the honey haired girl laughed while Damon gave a tight sarcastic smile.

"I'm Rheanna, by the way." The honey haired girl introduced herself to Damon as she pushed herself off of the doorjamb and walked over with her hand outstretched for him to shake. He eyed her sceptically for a second before placing his hand in hers to give it a firm shake and she smiled at him brightly when she pulled her hand away.

"Damon." He introduced himself to her with a flirty smile that made her wink back at him with a small giggle escaping her pretty lips.

"I know. Stefan told me all about his big brother. I must say, you're not as preachy as he made you out to be in the 20's."

"A lot's changed in 90 years." He responded lightly as she flashed him another smile in understanding before turning back to face Stefan who was still on the couch as she hummed in agreement.

>>>>

Rhea POV:

Rebekah and I walked down the hallway at Mystic Falls high school arm in arm as we smiled slightly at the other students that gaped at us. I knew that Bekah was revelling in the jealous scowls that the girls were sending our way and the sly grins of appreciation that the guys wore as they scanned our body up and down subtle and not so subtly but I was feeling a little self-conscious under their gaze. I tugged a little at the hem of my green shirt as I tried to avoid everyone's gaze and I heard my sister chuckle lightly at my actions so I sent her a withering glare out of the corner of my eye.

"Alright. Come on." Rebekah said quietly with an exasperated sigh as she grabbed my elbow and began to steer me towards a door to the side of the hallway. I frowned in confusion as I allowed her to pull me into an empty bathroom before she stopped to spin around to face me with her arms crossed of her chest and an expectant look on her pretty face. "What is it?"

"What's what?" I asked her in confusion as I mirrored her stance with my own arms crossed over my chest and she sighed impatiently as she moved so that her hands were on her hips.

"Why are you being all depressing?"

"I'm not being depressing!" I tried to deny in an offended tone but she just quirked a perfect pale eyebrow at me and waited for me to give in to her like I always did eventually so I sighed in defeat with a frown on my lips. "Fine. I don't want to be here, okay? Being in a high school gives me a weird feeling and it's probably because we've never gone to school but still… I just don't want to be here."

"That's not it. Try again." She ordered me sternly after looking at me suspiciously for a quietly moment and I groaned in frustration because I should've know that I could never lie to my twin sister.

"Fine." I groaned out through clenched teeth as I narrowed my eyes at the cocky grin she wore now that she had cracked my resolve. "I don't want to be anywhere near the doppelgänger."

"Ding ding ding, we have a winner!" Bekah muttered under her breath sarcastically as she rolled her cerulean blue eyes at me and I gave her a tight mouthed smile in response as I pushed on her shoulder.

"As horrible as it is, I still have feelings for Stefan and it hurts that he loves that horrid slag." I told her honestly as I shrugged my shoulders though it was no big deal and she nodded in understanding as I spoke.

"Well, suck it up, sister." She said to me with a cheerful smile as she patted my arm in a comforting gesture and I shot her an unbelieving look at her lack of sympathy so she shrugged her shoulders delicately. "We've never been to high school before and I really want to."

"I know you do, Bekah." I replied with a soft laugh at the eagerness in her beautiful eyes and she grinned happily in excitement as I grasped her hand in mine. "Let's go."

"Let's." she agreed with me as we headed for the door to the bathroom hand in hand and I saw when we re-entered the hallway that all of the other students had already gone to class.

"Where are we going?" Rebekah and I both asked the other at the same time and then we laughed at each other as I reached into my jean pocket for the schedule that the middle-aged woman in the admissions office had given us earlier when we enrolled at the last minute.

"Hmm. History in room 3B with Mr Saltzman." I told her as I looked back up at her with a half-smile when I recognised the name as one of the few people in town that knew of the existence of vampires.

"History, how boring." Rebekah replied with a quirk of her eyebrow and a soft amused smile on her lips as I hummed in acknowledgement. I linked my arm through hers as we strolled down the empty hallway with our high heels clicking against the tiles.

"Welcome back, seniors. Let's turn our brains back on, starting with this country's original founders... the Native Americans." I heard Alaric Saltzman say from behind a closed blue door with 3B marked on it in large black digits. I smirked at Rebekah as she pursed her lips together to stop from laughing at the teacher's misinformation and then pushed open the heavy door making everyone in the classroom look at the newcomers.

"What about the Vikings?" Rebekah asked him in a knowing tone as she walked into the classroom in front of me and I followed behind her as she made her way towards an empty seat in the crowded room. I noticed the shocked looks that the doppelgänger, the newly turned hybrid and the pretty blonde that was dating the hybrid gave us as I sat down in one of the vacant seats.

"There's no evidence that Viking explorers actually settled in the United States. Who are you two?" Mr Saltzman asked us in confusion as I smiled at him serenely as I folded my hand on the desk in front of me.

"My name's Rheanna and this is my twin sister, Rebekah. We're new. And history's my favourite subject."

 

Later that day after school, I was in one of the bathrooms in the school while Rebekah was at cheerleading practice because she had decided that she wanted a well-rounded and stereotypical high school experience. 

I dabbed some clear lip gloss onto my lip just as the bathroom door slammed open loudly making me startle slightly and mess up my make-up. I looked over to the door with wide blinking eyes in an effort to appear human and saw a familiar blonde haired vampire come storming into the room angrily.

"Stupid bratty blonde. Trying to take over my cheerleading squad. I worked hard for that position. I am captain!" She muttered under her breath to herself furiously and I watched her with my head tilted to the side in amusement as she ignored my presence or maybe she was just too flustered to even register who the other person was. She stalked over to stand in front of the mirror while maintaining a suitable distance from me and leaned her hands against the counter next to the sink as she huffed in anger.

"Are you okay?" I asked her in concern as I turned back to the mirror to fix my messed up lip and quirked an eyebrow at her in question as her head snapped around to face with a frown on her pretty lips.

"Fine." She replied through clenched teeth as she looked back at the mirror and ran a hand through her messed up wavy blonde hair.

"If you're sure…"

"… You know what? I'm not sure!" she snapped at me as she turned around to face me with her hands on her hips and her blue eyes flashing in anger so I turned around to give her my full attention as she vented her frustration out on me. "Your family is ruining my life. First off, your brother tried to kill my best friend for some creepy ritual and murdered her aunt in front of her. And then, he comes back here to force my boyfriend to turn into a hybrid and now your sister is trying to take over my life. It's like Invasion of the Body Snatchers, okay? If I start acting strangely, do me a favour and put a wooden bullet in my heart."

"Hmm. You're right, petite luciole." I told her with a soft smile of understanding and she blinked once in confusion that I wasn't offended by her tantrum. "My family isn't one that is easy to get along with, even for a member of it. I won't defend my family to you because I know that nothing I say will change your opinion of them."

"So you're so different from them." The blonde murmured quietly to herself as she looked at me with wide blue eyes and I laughed a little at her expression before I turned back to the mirror to finish fixing my makeup. She turned back to the mirror as well as she shook head slightly making her curly blonde hair fly wildly around her head and I smiled slightly at her reflection as I closed my makeup case.

"The only way to deal with Rebekah is to stand up to her and not take any of her crap." I advised her honestly as I turned to face her once more with a genuine smile and she nodded in understanding as she looked at me in mirror.

"My name's Caroline, by the way." The blonde called out to me just as I was about to turn the handle on the bathroom door but at her words I turned around to face her with a smile on my lips.

"Nice to meet you, Caroline. I'm Rheanna."

"You called me petite luciole, what does it mean?" she asked me curiously as she titled her head in confusion and I grinned at her as I laughed in amusement.

"You'll figure it out." I told her vaguely as I walked out of the door to the sound of her laughter and I smiled to myself as I headed for back door so that I could meet Rebekah near the car.

>>>>

3rd Person POV:

Elena, Damon, Alaric and Caroline were all standing in Alaric's history classroom at Mystic Falls High School the night of the back-to-school bonfire. They had decided to come up with a plan to weaken Stefan with vervain so that he wasn't a danger to Elena's safety because she was feeling a little unsafe with him wondering around town without his humanity switched on, especially after he called her a 'human blood bag' earlier that day.

"I'll lure Stefan away from the bonfire. Then when he's distracted..." Elena trailed off as she glanced at the vampire hunter for him to continue with her train of thought and he looked back at her with weary hazel eyes.

"I'll shoot him." He concluded with a firm nod of his head as Elena pursed her lips together tightly as she thought of hurting Stefan because it just seemed too unbelievable for her to even contemplate.

"Can't Bonnie just ju-ju him or something?" Damon asked the doppelgänger in a bored tone as he waved a dismissive hand in the air and Elena turned to face him with stern dark brown eyes as she sighed slightly as she shook her head at his suggestion.

"I'm trying to keep Bonnie out of this. I don't trust that Stefan won't hurt her. Caroline, are you covered?" Elena asked her blonde friend as she turned away from the eldest Salvatore and Caroline's blonde head popped up when she heard her name from where she was leaning against the wall near the blackboard at the front of the classroom.

"Yes! I will make sure that the old Forbes jail cell is prepped and ready." She responded to her friend's question as she smiled brightly and clapped her hands together once in front of her.

"We're forgetting a few key player's here. Rebekah and Rheanna? Wherever Stefan goes, the blond ponytail tends to follow and …. Well, I don't have a nickname for Rheanna yet." Damon commented with a shrug of his shoulders as he smirked at the group and Elena winced slightly at the mention of the honey haired Original because she could still remember the feel of her teeth clamped onto her neck.

"Which is why it's your job to keep them away." Elena told Damon as she turned on her heel to face him with a quirk of her eyebrow and he gave her an incredulous look as everyone in the room silently watched the exchange.

"How?! They're Originals. Last time I checked, we're out of daggers."

"So then preoccupy her with your charm." Elena told him with a slightly spiteful tone in her voice as she spoke to him and Caroline raised an eyebrow at her friend when she caught it.

"Might have better luck finding the dagger." Alaric quipped drily from his spot near his desk at the front of the classroom and Damon's striking blue eyes swivelled to face his ex-best friend.

"Are you ever not going to be mad at me, Ric?" Damon asked him as he pursed his lips together in frustration and regret.

"Doubtful." The hunter responded through narrowed hazel eyes just as Tyler strolled carelessly into the room.

"Sorry I'm late. What's going on?" Tyler asked the room as he stood in the doorway with his arms crossed over his broad chest and Caroline smiled slightly at the sight of her boyfriend.

"We need you to raid your mom's vervain supply. Enough to keep Stefan down for a while." Elena told him as she leaned her hands on Alaric's desk at the front of the room.

"You can't do that to Stefan." The hybrid responded to her request with a shake of his head and everyone in the room in the room turned to face him in confusion.

"Why not?" Caroline asked him with a short laugh as though he was joking with them and Alaric raised an eyebrow at the younger man in question.

"Trust me, Tyler, it's in his best interest." Elena told him as she titled her head to the side as she looked at him but he just shook his head at her as he stepped further into the room.

"Yeah. It's not in Klaus's and Rhea would be pissed." Tyler told them with a humourless laugh at the end as he mentioned the honey haired Original.

"But Klaus is the bad guy, Tyler. You know, why are you acting like some freaky, hybrid, slave minion?" Caroline asked her boyfriend incredulously as she stepped closer to him and he just looked back at her without answering her question.

"Uh-oh." Damon murmured quietly as he got up from where he was sitting near the side of the classroom and Alaric turned to face him with a questioning look on his handsome face.

"What?" he asked his ex-friend as Damon stepped closer to the hybrid without taking his eyes off of him.

"Klaus made me who I am, Caroline. I owe him everything. And Rhea has been nothing but understanding since I became a hybrid." Tyler told her with shrug of his shoulder as his deep brown eyes begged her to understand where he was coming from.

"Oh, boy." The eldest Salvatore uttered to himself as he stepped even closer to the hybrid and Caroline turned around to face him so fast her wavy golden hair whipped around her face.

"Ok, can we cool it on the commentary, please?" she asked him with her blue eyes wide as venom dripped from her voice and Damon held up his hands in surrender as he back away slightly.

"What is going on?" Elena asked him in a slightly nervous tone as she looked between the raven haired vampire and the newly turned hybrid. Damon subtly picked up one of the full vervain darts that was lying on Alaric's desk with the rest of his vampire hunting weapons.

"I'm just going to go." Tyler said hesitantly as he pointed over his shoulder at the door before turning around as though he was about to walk out the door to join the rest of students at the bonfire. Damon rushed at him using his vampire speed and jammed the vervain dart into his neck before injecting the poisonous liquid into his blood stream so that the hybrid collapsed onto the ground with a thud.

"What are you doing?!" Caroline screeched as she flew down to crouch next to her unconscious boyfriend where he laid sprawled on the classroom floor.

"He's been sired." Damon explained calmly as he backed away from the two of them with the empty vervain dart in his hand and everyone turned to look at him with wide uncomprehending eyes.

"What?" Alaric asked him curiously as he looked over at the fallen hybrid as though he might jump up at any moment.

"Sired. He feels loyal to Klaus because Klaus's blood created him."

"Loyal how?" Elena asked him uncertainly as she also peered at her unconscious friend nervously and took a deliberate step away from him.

"He'll seek acceptance from his master. It's really rare. But maybe not so much in hybrids." Damon stated as he stepped towards Elena protectively and Caroline looked at him through wide blue eyes.

"So how do I fix him?" she asked him desperately as she rested her hands on her boyfriend's chest and looked at Damon pleadingly from where she was crouched.

"Get a new boyfriend."

"You're so helpful." She said sarcastically as she used her vampire strength to lift Tyler's arm so that it was around her shoulders and then she stood up so he leaned against her. "I'm going to take Tyler back to his house before he wakes up. You guys don't need me, right?"

"Its fine, you go." Elena told her with a smile as she waved a hand dismissively in the air and Caroline nodded once before she hauled the unconscious hybrid out of the classroom.


	5. Flashback #1

1920's Chicago

Rheanna Mikaelson sat at the bar alone as she nursed her glass of amber liquid and watched the singer on stage intently. 

Every night since she and her siblings had arrived in Chicago, she had come to the speakeasy to drink and listen to her friend Gloria sing while she immersed herself in the fascinating culture during the daylight hours. 

The soft jazz music filled her as she automatically swayed a little to the beat of the song and closed her eyes in appreciation. Her pretty lips twisted into a scowl when the loud ruckus laughter sounded over the music and she turned her head to the side slightly to find the cause of it. Her oak brown eyes narrowed into slits as her gaze landed on the familiar silhouette of the infamous Mr Salvatore that she briefly met a few night prior. She hated to admit it even to herself but her dreams had been plagued by thoughts of leaf green eyes and kissable lips that kept her awake at night. She could hear the sound of his melodious laughter from across the club and felt her non-beating heart pick up tempo as she bit her lower lip.

"Damn it." She swore to herself as she shook her head and mentally scolded herself for acting like a lovesick teenage girl or even worse, like Rebekah. Rhea cherished her twin sister dearly but it was known in their family that Rebekah loved carelessly and acted much like her human age when she was in love. Much like her older brother Elijah, Rhea prided herself on being poised and levelheaded even when her human emotions were in overdrive. 

As she lifted her half empty glass of Scotch to her lips, as glanced at Salvatore from the corner of her eyes just in time to see the green eyed man stealing a peek at her as well. His handsome face broke out in a wide grin as he made a show of checking out her fashionably dressed body and she rolled her oak eyes at him as she looked away in disgust. She had had enough of the smug and arrogant boys that had paraded in front of her trying to get her attention and she was secretly disappointed that was one of them. She diverted her gaze back to the stage as she tried to hardest not to turn back and look at the man that had taken up residence in her mind. 

Salvatore looked at the honey haired beauty who sat at the bar counter that had been on his mind since their last encounter. 

The memory of her soft laugh and seductive British lilt had practically invaded his every thought since she had strolled into his life nights before. He had been coming back to the same speakeasy with the sole purpose of running into her again and here she was in front of him. Salvatore down the last of his tumbler of whiskey in one gulp because he needed some liquid courage before he slammed the glass down on the table next to him. He took long strides towards the bar until he was standing directly behind the stool next to the honey haired Brit.

"Is this seat empty?" He asked her in a cocky tone that normally had women flocking to his side but the the pretty girl just rolled her oak coloured in annoyance.

"Yes." She answered him in a bored tone and he grinned as he started to pull out the chair. "And so will this one if you sit down."

"Ooh! You have fire." Salvatore commented as he sat down next to her on the stool and her lips quirked up in a quick smile before she replaced her face into a expressionless mask.

"And you have some nerve."

"I prefer to call it confidence." He corrected her as he leaned his elbows on the bar top and she turned her head to the side to look at him. He smiled at her charmingly as he leaned towards her slightly and Rhea felt her breath catch in her throat at the smouldering lust in his light green eyes. "So, can I have your name yet?"

"Why? Don't you have one already?" She quipped back at him without hesitation and he threw back his head as a full bodied laugh escaped his lips. The glorious sound of his laughter made Rhea smile in return even though she wanted to remain aloof to his charms.

"Stefan. Stefan Salvatore." He introduced himself to her as he looked at up and down in a new light because before she was just a pretty girl with a contagious laugh but now she was witty conversationalist as well. She hesitated momentarily as she studied his handsome features for a second with her tilted to the side in consideration before she smiled slightly.

"Rheanna. Rhea Mikaelson."

"It's a pleasure to meet you probably, Miss Mikaelson." Stefan replied with an easy smile as he caught her delicate hand in his larger one and brought it to his lips to pressed a soft kiss on it.


	6. Ghost World

Rhea POV:

I was standing in front of the full length mirror as I silently studied the short floral dress that Rebekah had picked out for me on her last major shopping trip and tilted my head to the side in consideration. I pursed my lips together as I nodded my head in approval and then spun on my heel to face my bedroom door before striding out in with my heels clicking on the floor as I walked.

"Just a kiss on the lips in the moonlight…" I sang softly under my breath to one of the many songs that Bekah had shoved down my throat since we had been woken up after 90 years of missing out on popular culture such as music. We had spent a lot of our free time reading and surfing the internet in order to become accustomed to the modern world. I gracefully spun around on my tiptoes as I danced down the hallway to the staircase that lead to the downstairs parlour and then jumped down the steps two at a time in a childish manner.

"Rheanna…." I heard my name being whispered quietly from somewhere in the house so I froze where I was hallway down the stairs and turned my head slightly as I suspiciously narrowed my eyes. I slowly stepped down the next step as I listened closely to see if the voice would say anything else to give me any idea who it was trying to get my attention. I paused at the bottom of the stairs as I looked around the large empty boarding house that the Salvatore's were letting Rebekah and I stay for the time being and then I moved silently towards the living room.

"Oh my God!" I gasped in surprise when I saw the eldest Salvatore chained to a wooden chair in the middle of the room and I felt my eyes widened in shock before I used my Original vampire speed to run forward so that I was crouched next to the chair. Damon's head lolled to the side slightly with his eyes closed when I appeared next to him and he let out a whimper of pain as I grimaced in sympathy. "What the hell happened, Damon?"

"I don't know…" he murmured quietly as he opened his electric blue eyes slightly to peer at me and I looked back at him with a sympathetic frown before I used my strength to undo the heavy, metal chains that were locking him to the chair. Damon slumped in relief when the chains loosened from around him and he sighed heavily as I placed a gentle hand on his back. He wheezed out a weak cough as his sculpted face distorted into a grimace and I bit my lower lip in compassion.

"I'll be right back." I uttered to him softly as I stood up to my full height before running down to the basement where the Salvatore's kept the blood bags that they had pilfered from the local hospital. I opened the lid to the large double wide fridge before grabbing the first bag that I laid my hand on and then running back up the stairs to Damon's side. "Here you go."

"Thanks." He replied weakly as I handed him the blood bag and his bloodlust overtook his face before he slurped the scarlet red liquid out through the plastic straw attached to the bag. I hummed in acknowledgement as I rubbed soothing circles on his back with my hand as he drank greedily until all the blood was gone. He sighed in relief once again as he threw the now empty plastic blood bag across the room carelessly and I wrinkled my nose briefly at his lack of cleanliness. "Really? That's what disturbs you?"

"Eh." I defended myself with a delicate shrug of my shoulders as I give him an amused smile and he shook his head with a smirk on his lips. He groaned in pain as he pushed himself up to his feet with my help and I frowned at him as I placed my hand on his arm. "Are you okay?" I asked him in concern as I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye and he nodded his head at my question as he stretched his arms out in front of him.

"I'll be fine once I kill whoever locked me up."

"Well that's healthy." I responded good-naturedly with a smile as we both walked towards the entrance of the parlour and he threw me a quick half smile that I think I wasn't meant to see before he just shrugged his shoulders. "You have fun with your killing, I'm going to go shopping." I told him as I picked up my purse from the side table near the door and he nodded his head with a purse of his lips as we strolled out the door.

>>>>

Lexi POV:

I didn't know how in the hell I was standing there in front Stefan at the old city in Mystic Falls but I was extremely thankful that I made it here on time. I glanced down at my best friend who was tied to a chair in the middle of the dank basement jail cell so that Elena and I could give him a rapid ripper detox. I internally grimaced at the sight of sweet Stefan's head lolled forward as he slumped uncomfortably in the wooden chair but I kept the slightly smile on my lips so that I wouldn't show weakness in front of no-humanity Stefan.

"Klaus really did a number on him, huh?" I asked the silent doppelgänger who was standing next to me looking at her boyfriend, or was it her ex-boyfriend now? It was really hard to keep track of those two. I didn't mention the fact that I had personally met the Original hybrid on many occasions over the years thanks to my past relationships with Elijah and Rheanna Mikaelson because Elena didn't need to know that.

"He compelled him to turn off his humanity." Elena explained to me with a frown as she ripped her deep brown eyes away from Stefan's unconscious form.

"Well, we're just going to have to convince him to turn it back on. I have to warn you, it's not going to be pretty."

"I can handle it." She replied in a strong voice but I could hear the fear under the determination and I titled my head to the side as I smirked at my best friend before I kicked his side.

"Wake up, sleepyhead." I chirped perkily as Stefan's head flopped to the side and then he blinked his leaf green eyes lazily at me. "How you feelin'?" I asked him with a mocking smile as I crouched down to his eye level and he looked down at his arms that were trapped in chains with a confused frown on his lips.

"What is this? Let me out of here!" he shouted angrily at me as his green eyes flashed in rage but I didn't flinched in the slightest because I had been around Niklaus long enough to know what real rage looked like.

"Shh. Inside voices, please. I'm trying to get inside your head." I scolded him as I pushed my fingers to his temples just like Elijah taught me to do during our lessons.

"Elena. Get rid of her, please." Stefan pleaded with the human girl as he looked past me to her and tried to block out his words because they made me feel a little guilty for keeping him here although I knew that it was for the best.

"No." Elena said defiantly from behind me in a steely voice and I inwardly smile at her resolve as I focused on Stefan's mind with mine.

"First step, drying him out. Starve away the blood lust. Strip away the temptation." I informed Elena as I prepared to picture exactly that in my mind's eye before projecting it into Stefan's.

"This isn't going to work, Lexi. You can't do this." Stefan taunted me with a smirk on his face and I glanced over my shoulder at Elena with a blank expression.

"You heard the not pretty part?"

"I heard you." She told me with a nod of her head as she looked at me for a moment before turning her attention back to Stefan and I followed her gaze to Stefan's hard eyes. I knelt down in front of him and looked him directly in the eyes like Elijah told me to so many years ago.

"What are you doing?" Stefan asked me nervously as he watched me and I pictured his arms desiccating because of lack of blood. "What are you doing, Lexi?!"

"Doing what I do best, sweetness. I'm saving your life." I replied to him with a sickly sweet smile on my lips before I refocused my attention on his hands.

"I'm starving. I'm starving. I'm starving! Let me out! Let me out. Please let me out." Stefan begged us as tears streamed down his cheeks and I made sure that my emotions were on the backburner so that I wouldn't let the guilt overtake me.

"What's happening?" Elena asked me in a frightened voice as she watched me work from the back of the room and I silently stood up from my crouch slowly.

"He's hallucinating. That's three months without any blood." I told her in a cold voice as Stefan's face contorted in pain and I heard Elena's hard breathing behind me.

"Let me out!" Stefan screamed at us loudly and Elena jumped slightly at the sudden noise but I just remained motionless.

"Now he's at nine months." I said quietly as I envisioned his body drying out fastest and fastest because we didn't have time to waste. "Two years... Five."

"Did I ever tell you how glad I am that you're dead?" my best friend snarled at me harshly but I just smiled back at him serenely as I looked him right in the eye.

"Oh. I missed you, too, friend."

"Elena, Elena. I'm hurting. Please help me." Stefan implored Elena with large puppy dog green eyes and I glanced at Elena's crumpling face in time to know that she was on the verge of complying with his wishes.

"Don't listen. Shut him out." I ordered her as I pointed a finger at her and narrowed my eyes at the human girl as she took a deep, shuttering breath.

"I am helping you, Stefan." She told him in a strong voice that I nodded at before turning my attention back to my best friend.

"I'll do anything. I'll change. I promise." Stefan said to her in a desperate tone that he had used on me so many times before when we were going through this.

"It's a lie. He'll say anything right now." I reminded her as I turned to face her with a soft look in my eyes so that she would know that I was feeling sympathetic.

"Elena, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Just make it stop. Please, just make it stop."

"You have to separate yourself from your emotions. Don't let him play on them." I said to Elena as I ignored Stefan's and tried to get Elena to keep to focus on me instead of him because I knew that if she looked at him she would fall for the lie just like I had my first time through this.

"Hey, look at me. Look at me." Stefan tried to get her attention once more and I watched as Elena finally tore her gaze away from me to look at him as I sighed in defeat.

"Elena. I love you, ok? I love you. I love you so much. I love you so much, Elena." Stefan told her softly and I watched as Elena relaxed a little before stiffening in determination.

"I'm sorry, Stefan, I just don't believe you." Elena told him in a unmistakably hurt voice as she took a step away from him and his handsome face twisted into a snarl as a growl escaped his lips.

"You know what? I don't want your help, anyway. I wish I'd never met you. Every single moment that I've spent with you has been a complete and total waste. I will rip you apart, Lexi! You wasted your whole life taking care of me. Now you're dead and you still have nothing better to do." Stefan hissed at me angrily and I crouched down in front of him again as I rested a hand on the small of my back where I had hidden a wooden stake. I looked once at Elena over my shoulder before glancing back at one of my best friends in the entire world with a soft smile on my lips.

"You see that? That's the ripper talking. Once he's weak enough, you have to cause him pain. Make him feel things. Anger, rage, anything. You have to make him see past the blood. Think of it as a regimen. Day in and day out. Like running the treadmill. Like making coffee. Until he's ready to be saved." I told Elena softly before I abruptly stood up from my crouch and jammed the make shift stake into Stefan's stomach as that he let out a strangled cry of pain at the sudden movement.

"We're running out of time." Elena announced nervously as she gave me an apologetic look and I glanced at her with wide eyes before looking back at Stefan with a grimace.

"Okay. You said that the Originals were in town?" I asked for confirmation as I looked back at Elena with a steely look in my eye and she nodded her head hesitantly as she watched me warily. "You need to find either Elijah or Rheanna and ask them to help you, alright? They are the only two I trust to help Stefan through this."

"Elijah's not here. It's only Rebekah and Rheanna." Elena corrected me and I nodded slightly as I felt disappointment swell in my stomach that Elijah wasn't near. I noticed the way that Stefan flinched slightly at the mention of Rheanna, or maybe it was Rebekah but kept my gaze trained on Elena.

"That's fine. Talk to Rhea. Tell her, 'étoile filante' and she will know that it's me who's asking." I told her sternly as I watched her expression dim a little at the mention of my friend but I let it go because Stefan was more important.

"Okay…"

"Promise me!" I demanded as I took a step forward and then immediately felt guilty at the terrified look on the doppelgänger's face.

"I promise." She said solemnly as she looked at me honestly and I nodded my head in appreciation before I looked back at Stefan sadly. I looked down at my body when it started to feel weightless and then I was suddenly back on the Otherside where no one could hear me scream.

>>>>

Rhea POV:

I was sitting on one of the lounges in the parlour when I heard the sound of the front door opening but I didn't even look up from my book because I figured that it would be Damon, Stefan or Rebekah coming home. 

I heard the familiar sound of shoes on the hardwood floor but it didn't sound like the high heels that Rebekah preferred nor did the person sound heavy enough to be either of the Salvatore brother's so I lifted my head from my book warily. I watched suspiciously as Elena walked into the living room I was resting with a serious look on her pretty face and she looked around the cavernous space until her deep brown eyes landed on me.

"Damon isn't home." I informed her pointedly as I turned my attention back to the book I was reading and I heard her sigh slightly as she stepped further into the room with the floorboards creaking under room converses.

"I'm not looking for Damon. I'm actually here to speak to you." The doppelgänger corrected me in a hard tone of voice and I lifted my head in intrigue as I quirked a perfectly manicured eyebrow at her in question.

"If this is about Stefan, I'd rather not."

"No, I'm here because of Lexi." She said gently as she stopped next to the couch I was sitting on and my head snapped up so fast as I glared at her through narrowed eyes.

"I'd be very careful what you say next, Elena. I've had people looking for her since I woke up but so far no luck." I told her sadly as I folded my legs underneath my body and closed my novel as Elena frowned at me in sympathy that I didn't understand. "What is it you're not telling me?"

"Lexi died, Rheanna."

"No!" I yelled in denial as I jumped to my feet angrily and her eyes widened in fear as she took a step back from me but I just shook my head side to side furiously.

"Sorry…" she muttered to quietly as she looked at the ground and I finally stopped moving as I studied the sympathetic expression on her face. I felt hot tears spring to my eyes as I realised that she was telling me the truth and I sunk to the couch slowly as I stared blankly at nothing.

"You were close. Did you change her?" Elena asked me curiously as I heard her walk a little closer to where I was sitting and I gave her a sad smile as I looked up at her with tears brimming my eyes.

"No, no. That was my brother, Elijah."

>>>>

3rd Person POV:

1680 - Paris, France

Elijah and Rheanna Mikaelson strolled down the cobblestone pathway next to the Seine river arm in arm as they laughed gleefully at the something secret between them. Rhea leaned slightly into her older brother as they walked with a content smile plastered on her lips and Elijah gazed down at his little sister with a fond smile.

"Thank you for tonight, 'Lijah. I don't know what I would've done if I had to spend another minute with Rebekah and Nik's ridiculous fighting." The younger Original said to her brother with a roll of her oak brown eyes as Elijah chuckled softly at her remark but couldn't help but silently agree with her as his matching chocolate brown eyes softened with love as he looked down at her.

"Anything for you, Rhea. Besides, if you did end up killing them who do you think would have to dispose of the bodies?" Elijah joked with a rare grin gracing his lips as he spoke and his sister giggled at his statement as she gave his arm an affectionate squeeze. 

They walked in silence for a few minutes until the clear night was shattered by the sound of ruckus male laughter and the unmistakable sound of crying.

"What is that?" Rhea asked herself quietly as the two vampires stopped in their tracks to listen to the far away voices.

"Please, please, stop! You're hurting me." A soft gentle female voice pleaded desperately to someone unseen and Rhea froze as her whole body stiffened at the sound. Elijah pursed his lips together as he looked down at his little sister in concern as her matching brown eyes widened in a way that would've been comical in any other circumstance. 

Rhea shook her head almost imperceptibly before she took off at a frightening vampire speed in the direction that the voice had come from and Elijah sighed to himself before following his younger sister in time to see the honey haired girl snapping the neck of one of the men. He looked at the scene in front of him and sighed at the sight of four male corpses on the ground, a bleeding young woman watching lying unconscious near the side of the alley and his kind, compassionate younger sister standing over the man she had just killed with her bare hands. 

Rhea stared blankly at the face of the man she had just killed and tried to ignore the anger that was swelling in her stomach. 

Elijah pressed his lips together tightly in disappointment as he straightened his suit jacket before strolling over to the unconscious woman sprawled on the ground before crouching down next to her body. He ignored the smell of fresh blood coming from her and let his oak coloured eyes travel here injured body as he listened intently to the weak sound of her heart beat. He cast a fleeting look over at his sister to find her still standing still over the dead man before he looked back at the pretty young woman that was dying in front of him.

"They tried to rape her..." Rhea murmured softly to herself as she tried to defend her actions in killing the men and hot tears sprung to her eyes as she remembered a similar situation happening to her when she was human. 

Elijah's head snapped around at the sound of her voice and he studied her intently as he also remembered finding he after the incident when they were human. He looked back at the young woman with sympathy in his eyes before allowing his vampire features to overtake his face as he bit into his wrist with a crunch. He brought his wrist to the girls mouth as he put his arm under her neck so that he was forcing the blood to run down her throat and watched as her neck muscles worked to swallow the healing vampire blood. He stared intently at her face as he noticed how beautiful the young woman was with her long curl blonde hair and tan skin. Elijah focused his attention away from her marvellous features as he noticed the lack of a heart beat in her chest and Rhea's gaze finally snapped up away from the man at her feet when the barely there heart beat she had been focusing on disappeared. 

"What happened?!" She asked her older brother in a panic as she ran to the girls other side at her fastest pace but Elijah just shook his head at her without taking his eyes away from the young woman in his arms. "No, no, no. She cannot be dead!"

"She has my blood in her system." He told her calmly as he looked over at his young sisters dismayed expression as Rhea stared down at the dead woman with tears in her oak brown eyes.

The oldest Mikaelson opened his mouth to smooth his younger sisters worries when he was cut off by the sound of a loud gasp of breath so he bent his head down to the younger woman in his arms. 

The blonde haired girl gasped for breath as she woke up to see the brown eyes pair leaning over her and her panic intensified in fright. Her large hazel eyes were wide with distress as she tried to move out of their reach so that she wouldn't be in immediate danger.

"No, please. Please!" She begged in a horror filled voice as she remembered the final moments before she passed out and she tried to remove herself from the handsome man's arms but he kept a strong hold of her.

"It's okay, sweetheart." The man murmured in a melodic British accented voice that immediately made her feel more at ease but she still looked at him in fright even if she did stop trying to escape.

"I'm Rheanna and this is my brother, Elijah. Can you tell me your name, étoile filante?" The young brown eyed woman with honey coloured hair who was on her other side asked in a soothing accented voice and the blonde instantly felt protected by the woman even though she didn't know her. Her hazel gaze moved from one sibling to the other as she judged whether or not she could trust them.

"Alexia. Alexia Branson." She told them softly in a slightly French accented voice as Rhea smiled at here comfortingly while Elijah nodded his head in greeting.


	7. Ordinary People

3rd Person POV:

900's - Mystic Falls:

Rheanna Mikaelson leaned against the rock wall of the large cave that the Mikaelson family used to hide in during the nights of the full moon when the werewolves changed into beasts with her arms crossed over her chest as she watched her twin sister in amusement. Niklaus watched warily as Rebekah stood near the wall with a knife in her hand as she carved her name neatly into the cave wall.

"Rebekah, let me have at it." He said in a quiet order as he worried about what his father would say with he knew that a woman was wielding a blade.

"Quiet, Niklaus! I am to have more concentration if I am not to slice off a finger." Rebekah told him sternly as she focused on the wall in front of her and Rheanna chuckled at her siblings bickering as she pushed herself off of the rocky wall.

"Father will not like either of you handling the blade." Niklaus murmured softly more to himself then to his sisters but they both heard him and stopped what they were doing to give him withering looks that would have made most men fall to their knees to beg forgiveness.

"If we want to wield a blade, we shall wield a blade!" Rheanna snapped her him in indignation through narrowed oak coloured eyes as she accepted the knife that her sister offered her by the handle and Rebekah took an almost threatening stepped towards their brother.

"Father need not know." She added in support of her twin sister as she also narrowed her cerulean blue eyes at Niklaus and put her hands on her hips.

"He will find out. He always does." Niklaus responded softly as he looked to the side of the cave away from his younger sisters prying gazes and Rhea turned to attention to the dirt wall in front of her as she carefully carved her name into the wall underneath Rebekah's.

"That is because you always tell him." Rebekah reminded him pointedly as she tilted her head to the side knowingly and Rheanna stepped away from the wall with a proud smile as she admired her work.

"I cannot help it... he frightens me." Niklaus admitted to them sheepishly as he looked down at the ground in shame and both girls shared a look as they immediately softened.

"He frightens us all. That is why we stick together as one." Rheanna said to him with an understanding smile on her lips as Niklaus looked up from the ground to face his sisters.

"Always and forever. Right, traitor?" Rebekah told him as she matched her twin's smile and Niklaus smiled softly at the girls in reply.

"Here. You finish it, we are to help mother with the meal." Rhea informed her brother as she held out the knife for him to take from her and Rebekah nodded her head in agreement.

"Yes, go tend to dinner, and leave the blades to the men, little sisters." Niklaus said with a smirk on his lips as he moved to stand in front of the dirt wall without taking the knife from his sister's hand and failed to notice the glimmer in their eyes as they shared a dangerous glance. Niklaus blindly held out his hand for the knife as Rheanna silently handed the knife over to Rebekah who smirked evilly before retorting to his comment by slamming the knife into his palm by the blade and making the skin of his hand slice open. "Agh, Bekah!"

"It's just a little blood. Be a man about it." Rebekah replied sweetly before smiling at her sister and walking out of the cave without a backwards glance. Rheanna chuckled a little at her sister's antics before crossing the three feet to her brother and smiling at him reassuringly.

"You deserved that, you know?" she told him with a smirk as she reached up to unwrap the fabric that she had tied around her hair as a bow and letting her long honey coloured hair fall around her shoulders.

"She went a little far, did she not?" Niklaus responded with a matching smirk that made Rheanna stop in her movements to glare at her through narrowed eyes. "I'm only joking, Rhea."

"It's not funny, Nik."

"It's a little funny." He shot back at her as she shook her head at him in exasperation and silently tied the fabric around his palm before tying it in a knot to hold it in place.

"Sometimes you're as bad as Kol." Rheanna told him fondly as she smiled up at her older brother and he chuckled lightly at her statement as she stood on her tip toes to give him a kiss on the cheek.

>>>>

Rhea's POV:

"Why do you keep coming back?" Stefan asked me in weak voice as I stepped into the tiny cell that Lexi and Elena had locked him in and I plastered a sarcastic frown on my lips as he tried to lift his head to glare at me.

"Why, Stefan, anyone would think you weren't happy to see me!" I said in a mock surprised tone as I closed the heavy cell door behind me as I entered and I heard him sigh slightly in frustration as his head lolled to the side with his light green eyes closed. 

I frowned slightly as I took in his pasty pale skin that was looking paper thin thanks to Lexi's rehabilitation techniques and had to stop myself from feeling any sympathy for him because I knew that any sympathy from me would result in me letting him go without turning his humanity on. My high heeled boots made a small clicking sound as I slowly walked in a predatory circle around the man that I once loved.

"Why, Rheanna? Why do you want me to turn my humanity back on so bad? Do you think that it would make me love you again? Is that it? How pathetic are you?!" Stefan spat at me harshly as he opened his heavily lidded eyes to glare daggers at me as I ran a finger gently along the back of his neck. "Are you that desperate? I mean, not even your own brother can stand to spend much time with you! Klaus daggered you for 90 years and then when he did finally wake you up, he abandoned you in the middle of nowhere. You are so pathetic that not even your brother can stand you. That is just tragic."

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear that last part." I whispered in his ear sarcastically as I bent my head down to his ear level from behind the wooden chair that he was tied to and he laughed bitterly as I stood back up to continue walking around him so that I was standing in front of him.

"You. Are. Pathetic." He enunciated each word clearly for me as he stared at me with something close to hate in his light green eyes and I felt a tiny bit of hope that I could get his humanity back on.

"Hmm. Well, considering my life is so pathetic… I have all day to spend with you." I told him with a cheerful smile on my lips as I clasped my hands together in front of me and he groaned as he threw his head back to look at the ceiling. "Now, earlier you said something about love and it got me thinking. Love is a very powerful emotion. You've loved quite a few people in your life, haven't you, Stefan?"

"Love is for the weak." he replied to me taunt as he lifted his head back up to stare at me blankly and I chuckled softly as I placed my hands on my hips in front of him.

"Well, now you just sound like Nik." I said to him with a smile as I crouched down in front of him and placed one hand on his left knees as I looked straight into his light green eyes. "Who was first? Katerina, wasn't it? She went by Katherine Pierce then, of course."

"Katherine compelled my love. It wasn't real."

"That may be." I responded with a careless shrug of my shoulders as I leaned in slightly now that Stefan focus was solely on me and I concentrated on projecting my thoughts into his mind just like Elijah had taught me to do many centuries ago. "But our love was real."

>>>>

3rd Person POV:

1920's – Chicago:

Stefan Salvatore smiled softly at the honey haired girl that was holding his right hand tightly as they traipsed through the forest and chuckled slightly when she stumbled into his arms because of the piece of fabric he had asked her to wear while he led her to the surprise he had for her.

"Don't laugh at me, Mr Salvatore!" Rheanna Mikaelson ordered in a playful voice as she listened to the melodic sound of his laughter when she stumbled and tightened her grip on his hand so that she wouldn't trip again. He pressed a chaste kiss to her temple as he guided her over a fallen log on the floor of the forest and Rhea felt her unbeating heart melt slightly as she sighed in contentment.

"Stop purposely falling into me than, Miss Mikaelson." He teased her lightly with a grin on his lips as she blindly reached out to the side to try and shove him but he moved out of the way just in time to avoid being hit. 

Rhea frowned when her attempt to shove the younger vampire was ruined and lifted her hands to the back of her head where the fabric was tied in a knot. Stefan saw that she was about to untie the fabric so he shot out his hands to grab onto her slender wrists so that they stopped moving. "Uh uh."

"Stefan…." Rhea whined with a pretty pout on her lips as she let him drag her wrist away from the back of her head and he bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from laughing out loud at her expression. "You know I hate surprises."

"You'll like this one." He assured her with a smirk on his lips as he pulled her to a stop at the edge of a small clearing and Rhea sigh in defeat as her stiff posture relaxed in his hold.

"I highly doubt that." She whispered more to herself than to Stefan but he heard her complaint and just rolled his light green eyes at her as he looked around the clearing to make sure everything was in order.

"Alright, babe. You ready?" he asked her in teasing tone as she bounced a little on her toes in anticipation and nodded her head frantically in answer to his question. Stefan smiled at her lovingly before his gaze swept over the clearing once more and then he stepped behind her to untie the fabric from around her eyes. "Surprise…" he whispered softly into her ear as his lips barely grazed her lobe and she shivered under his touch as she opened her oak coloured eyes slowly.

"Oh, my God…" Rheanna whispered quietly as tears sprung to her eyes and she covered her mouth in shock as she looked around the clearing. The starry night sky could be seen through the overhanging trees and in the middle of the green grass was a single table set for two covered in a white table cloth. She slowly turned on her heel to face Stefan who was standing behind her with a smirk on his lips and his hands in his front pockets. "This is amazing."

"You're amazing." He responded as he leaned forward to capture her soft pink lips with his own and Rhea immediately moved her hands so that they were tangled in his light bronze hair as her lips moved in sync with his. Stefan pulled her closer to him so that her body was pressed up against his hard stomach and she gasped slightly as his tongue swiped gently across her bottom lip in silence question. She opened her mouth for him to enter as he gripped her hips in his hands and he pressed a gently kiss to her neck as he pulled away from her. Rhea let out a giggle as Stefan pulled away to gaze at the beautiful sight in front of him.

"I love you." Rhea murmured softly as her gaze flickered to his lips slightly before gazing deeply into his light green eyes that she adored and he gave her a genuine smile as he kissed her temple.

"I love you too." He whispered to her as he smiled at the sight of her slightly swollen lips and tinted pink cheeks before she grinned bright at him.

>>>>

Rhea POV:

"Our love was real." I murmured to him softly as I let go of the memory and came back to the present where I was crouched in front of Stefan. His light green eyes were closed as he experience the my memory as though it was a movie although he felt every emotions that was being experienced as though it was happening to him presently. I blinked once to gain some distance from the past as I stood up gracefully and Stefan opened his eyes at stare at me blankly although I thought I could see some emotion in the depths of his eyes.

"That was laughable." He said to me in a low voice as he stared into my oak brown eyes and I slowly nodded my head at him in understanding.

"So, maybe our love wasn't strong enough. How about Elena then? I heard someone say that Elena was your 'epic love'. If not her, then who?" I asked him tauntingly as I slowly stalked around him again in a predatory way so that I ended up behind him. I leaned down low so that my lips were slightly brushing against his ear lobe as I spoke softly to him in an almost seductive manner. "Maybe it's not romantic love that will get you to flip the switch. I was thinking, 'Who is the one person on this Earth you love more than anyone?' and do you know what I came up with? One word. Five letters. 'Damon'."

"Damon?" he asked me in a confused tone as though I was being purposely stupid and he turned his head slightly to glance at me incredulously.

"That's right. When it all comes down to it, the Salvatore Brothers can make it through anything. Your bond is unbreakable." I told her in a knowing voice as I straightened up from where I was and moved so that I was in front of him again. 

I froze where I was in front of him when I heard the distant sound of footsteps outside the door to the cell and turned on my heel to see who was coming because from what Damon had told me no one knew that the cell was here.

"Mmm...pasty and pouty." I heard Damon say to someone and I immediately relaxed my stance when I realised that it wasn't a threat approaching.

"He'll have to get over it. Call me later." Elena said to him in an obnoxious tone that made me roll my eyes at her although she sounded far away so I assumed that she was on the phone with the older Salvatore. Damon appeared through the bar of the heavy metal door before he opened it and stepped into the cell with me and Stefan.

"You know, if you two are gonna keep me locked in here for the next decade, I think we can skip the routine visits." Stefan said to him tiredly as he looked at his brother and Damon smirked slightly as he leaned on the wall with his arms over his broad chest.

"You know I'm not a big champion in this whole Lexi-Recovery-Plan... but Elena thinks this place is gonna weaken you up, break you down and make you feel again." He responded with a roll of his electric blue eyes and I smiled slightly as I moved so that I wasn't just standing in the middle of the room.

"We should all listen to Elena, right? I mean her plans always work out so well, don't they?" Stefan asked him rhetorically as he tilted his head to the side lazily and I bit my lower lip to stop from laughing at the jab about Elena. "Why are you here?"

"What are you talking about? It's Family Day at of Vampire Rehab! So, I'm paying a visit to my baby brother." Damon replied sarcastically as he pushed off the wall and strolled up to one of the chains hanging from the ceiling.

"Go away." Stefan spat at him in a bored voice as he lolled his to the side so that he wasn't looking at his brother and I tsked my tongue at him as I walked up behind him.

"Don't be rude, Stefan. Or I'll put you in solitary confinement." I told him jokingly as I ran a hand over the back of his chair and he gave me sarcastic smile as Damon smirked in amusement.

"Nah. I thought we could hang out, a little brother bonding. How've you been Stef? Huh?" Damon asked in a fake cheerful voice as he moved to stand next to his brother.

"You can go now." Stefan told him as he stared at him blankly and I frowned a little when Damon glanced at me before turning back to him.

"You really have given up."

"Actually, this is my happy face..." Stefan responded as he gave a over-fake sarcastic smile and I glanced down at him from over his shoulder.

"Well, that's attractive." I commented drily as I stood back up and they both glanced at me with pointed glares so I shrugged my shoulders innocently. Damon looked at his brother for a minute silently before gripping the chains around Stefan's hands and breaking them as I stared in confusion at him.

"What are you doing?" Stefan and I both asked at the same time as we looked at Damon warily and he turned around to look at us with his eyebrows raised.

"Screw this Lexi-plan. I think we could all use a drink."

"Uh uh, no way." I said to say to him as I moved to stand in front of him with my hands on my hips. "This is my prison, he is prisoner and I am the warden."

"Okay, little miss warden, what does that mean exactly?" Damon asked me sarcastically as he rolled his blue eyes at my outrage while Stefan slowly made his way to his feet.

"It means…" I started slowly as though I was speaking to a child and he raised his eyebrows as he waited for me to finish. My stern expression gradually changed into a sly grin. "That I get ride shotgun!"

>>>>

Elena POV:

"And one of the last moments my family had together as humans." Rebekah stated as she stared blankly into the past when she finished telling me the story of how her younger brother was killed by werewolves and I couldn't help but feel a little bit of sympathy for her. I couldn't imagine losing Jeremy like that.

I was startled out of my trance when my cell phone started ringing from inside my jacket pocket and Rebekah jerked back into the room as well at the sudden noise. "You better get that. That'll be Damon checking up on you."

"Hello?" I answered the phone after I pulled it out of my pocket and Rebekah went back to learning through Stefan's things.

"Hey!" Damon greeted me cheerfully on the other end of the phone and I couldn't help the slight jump of my heart at the sound of his voice. I shook my head at my traitorous thoughts and frowned when I heard rock music playing in the background of the phone call.

"Damon, where are you?" I asked him a slightly wary voice because I knew how erratic Damon could be sometimes.

"No idea, but I'm pretty sure, I'm overdressed." He replied to me and I pursed my lips together in concern. "Still standing?"

"Yes, I'm fine, but I can't talk right now." I told him as I glanced over at the blonde who was flipping through one of Stefan's leather bound diaries.

"I'll be at the bar." I thought I heard Stefan say in the back ground of the call and I frowned in confusion.

"Get me some tequila!" I heard Rheanna call out as well and I felt my stomach clench in jealousy.

"Is that Stefan and Rheanna?" I asked in a hard voice as Rebekah's head snapped up at the mention of her twin sister.

"Yeah, I kinda went off a bit. Don't worry - I know what I'm doing." Damon responded in a knowing tone that made me frown because most of the time his plans didn't really work out.

"Damon! How could you let him out?"

"I got this back, Elena." He assured me before he hung up on me and I scoffed into the phone as I closed it up.

>>>>

Rhea POV:

Damon, Stefan and I had been hanging out at the bar all day drinking with each other as we let all the problems back in Mystic Falls disappear so that it was just us, the alcohol and blood. 

I was dancing out on the dance floor with a half empty bottle of vodka in my hand when I felt someone come up behind me and wrapped theirs arms around my waist. I immediately stiffened in surprise thanks to a left over reflex from the attack when I was human but relaxed when I recognised the familiar scent of Stefan. I smiled slightly as we moved in sync together to the music and I lifted the bottle to my lips again as the burning alcohol slid down my throat.

Shot through the heart

And you're to blame

Darlin'

You give love a bad name

"Oh, my God!" I exclaimed happily when I recognised the lyrics of one of the songs that I had learned since waking up from my 90 year sleep and I spun around to face Stefan with a massive drunk smile on my lips. "I love this song."

"You like Bon Jovi?" Stefan asked me with a slight smile on his lips as a hint of something shone in his light green eyes and I shrugged my shoulders indifferently.

"I don't know, who's Bon Jovi?"

"This is Bon Jovi!" he told me with a genuine laugh as he spun my around by my hand and I giggled as I danced with him as I nodded my head enthusiastically.

"I love Bon Jovi!" I screamed at the top of my lungs and everyone in the bar cheered in agreement with me.

Shot through the heart

And you're to blame

You give love a bad name (bad name)

I play my part and you play your game

You give love a bad name (bad name)

You give love, a bad name

"You give love, a bad name!" I sung the lyrics with the music as Stefan and I danced together until the end of the song. 

I giggled loudly as I danced my way back over to the table that Damon was sitting at with the blonde bartender on his lap and I sat down on one of the vacant seats as Stefan sat next to me. Damon pulled his mouth away from the bartender's wrist to smirk at us and then wiped the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Callie, why don't you go get us another bottle of tequila?" Damon asked the bartender in more of a demand but the blonde got up with bright smile as she practically skipped over to the bar.

"Having fun, Damon?" I asked him with a quirked eyebrow as I grin at him knowingly and he smirked back at me as he wriggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"You know what we need?" Damon asked suddenly out of nowhere and I turned my head to look at him expectantly as he leaned forward in his seat slightly. "Body shots…." He stage whispered to us from behind one hand and I clapped my hands together rapidly in agreement.

"Yes! Body shots. Where is that tequila?" I asked loudly to get the bartender's attention as she was walking over with a full bottle of tequila in one hand and plate of lime slices in the other.

"Alright." Stefan agreed after a moment's hesitation and we all stood up from our seats as we made our way over to the bar counter top. I giggled slightly in my drunken state as I expertly pulled my shirt off from over my head so that I was standing in only my skinny jeans and my black lace bra before I gracefully jumped up on to the bar top. I squirmed a little at the sudden cold but got comfortable as I laid down on my back before Damon opened the bottle of clear liquid with a smirk on his lips.

"On with it then." I told him playfully as he poured the tequila into my navel and I silently gasped at the surprising chill before he shook some salt just under the tequila.

"Stefan?" I heard Damon offer his brother the first turn and I turned my head sideways to see Stefan walking over to where I was lying on the bar. He smirked down at me as he leaned over me and I smiled at him slightly at him as he bent down so that his breath brushed against my naked skin. I sucked in a breath as his lips pressed onto my stomach and the skin burned at his touch as he drank the tequila from my bellybutton before running his tongue just above the waist line of my jeans sending shivers along the length of my body.

>>>>

3rd Person POV:

900's – Mystic Falls:

Rebekah, Rheanna and Niklaus stood side by side in front of their late mother's grave after they had finished burying her. Rhea and Rebekah both had tears streaming down their cheeks as they held hands and stared blankly at the grave. All they could feel in that moment was sorrow at the loss of their mother and hate towards Mikael for taking her away from them. As the only girls in the family, the twins had been especially close to their mother. 

Rheanna gingerly touched the necklace that her mother had given her when she had come into her power at age 14 but now that she had turned she was no longer a servant of nature. She glanced at her sullen older brother from the corner of her eye and then looked back at the grave in front of her.

"I know you think she hated you, Niklaus, but she did not. She was just afraid." She told him softly as she grasped Rebekah's hand in hers for comfort.

"I'm sorry she turned her back on you. I will never do that." Rebekah vowed to her brother as she looked at him in the eye and Rhea nodded her head in agreement.

"Nor will I." Elijah assured him as he joined the three of them near the gravesite and Rhea released a sob as she threw her herself at her older brother. Elijah caught her in his arms as he closed his eyes against the tears that threatened to fall and squeezed his younger sister tighter into his chest.

"We stick together as one. Always and forever." Rebekah and Rheanna said in unison as they clasped hands once more and then held out the other hand for each brother to take so that they were standing in a square around the grave.

>>>>

Rhea POV: 

I entered the Boarding House a little while later after leaving to give the boys a little brother bonding time and stumbled slightly in my drunkenness. I giggled slightly as I shut the door behind me and turned on my heel to walk into the parlour.

"Honey, I'm home!" I called out jokingly to my twin sister as I walked into the living room and leaned against the doorframe so that I could pull off my high heels. When no answer came from my sister, I frowned in concern and walked further into the room. "Rebekah?"

"Rheanna?" I heard her ask softly from somewhere in the house and I stepped slowly into the room as I looked around for her only to find her hunched in the middle of the room hugging her knees as tears ran down her cheeks. I quickly ran to her side in a panic and knelt down beside her as I wrapped my arms around her tightly.

"Ssh. I have you." I cooed at her as I frowned in concern and confusion but stroked her blonde hair in a comforting manner as she clung to me for dear life.

"He killed her." She sobbed into my shoulder as tears wracked her body and I just squeezed her tighter even though I had no idea what she was talking about. "He killed her! Nik killed our mother."


	8. Homecoming

3rd Person POV:

Stefan Salvatore dialled a number by memory on his cell phone as he leaned his elbows on his knees where he sat on one of the armchairs in the living room. The phone line rang twice before he heard the click to indicate that the owner had answered.

"Portland is fantastic. Once you get over all the whiny music and healthy looking people it is literally a breeding ground for werewolves." Niklaus Mikaelson's voice sounded through the phone in a cheerful manner and Stefan sat up straighter in his seat in anticipation.

"Your father is dead." Stefan told him bluntly and Klaus paused for a minute in shock and unbelief that his father who had been hunting him for 1000 years was finally out of his life.

"What did you say to me?" he demanded harshly as his light blue eyes narrowed into slits as he stared blankly into the empty forest in front of him.

"Oh, my mistake. Not your actual father and not dead. Mikael. Daggered." The younger vampire clarified with a hint of humour leaking into his voice even though he was severely concerned that the hybrid wouldn't believe him even though his compulsion would have revealed if he lied. "What do you want me to do with the body?"

"Well, first I want you to explain to me exactly what happened."

"Mikael tried to kidnap Elena as leverage against you but Damon and I vervained him. We found a dagger and white oak ash on him so we assumed he was planning on daggering Rebekah. Elena daggered him." Stefan explained dishonestly as he looked down at Mikael's desiccated body lying on the ground with a dagger in his heart.

"I wanna see him. I want to see his rotting body for myself." Klaus ordered sternly as he listened to his ex-friend's story and Stefan internally sighed in relief that he seemed to believe him.

"Well, he is here. Come by whenever."

"If you are lying to me Stefan, your compulsion will expose you. So, answer with your life: Is what you are saying the truth?" Klaus asked in suspicion as Stefan remembered watching Elena drive the dagger into a willing Mikael's chest apprehensively.

"It´s true. I saw it with my own eyes." Stefan told him honestly as his green eyed gaze found Elena sitting on the couch across from him and she nodded her head slightly at him.

"I wanna talk to Rebekah."

"That´s not a problem. She is right here." Stefan replied as he looked over to where Rebekah and Rheanna were standing next to each other across the room and Rebekah looked at her sister unsurely before taking the phone that Stefan offered her. Rhea took her twins hand in hers as Rebekah looked over at Elena who nodded before holding the phone to her ear with a slight sigh.

"Hello Nik." Rebekah greeted her brother polite as she ignored the growing swell of guilt that was growing in her stomach and Rhea frowned slightly when Rebekah squeezed her hand.

"Rebekah, love. What´s this I hear about Mikael´s tragic run in with the dagger?" Klaus asked his younger sister and everyone looked over at Rebekah to see what she would do.

"It´s true. He´s finally out of our lives for good. Rhea and I miss you. We're miserable here."

"I´ll be home soon." He promised her softly as Rhea closed her oak coloured eyes against the onslaught of shame that she felt.

"Good. I'll see you then, brother." Rebekah said into the phone sadly before hanging up and looking over at Elena, Damon and Stefan. "He bought it. He´s coming home."

"Now- was that easy or what?" Damon asked rhetorically as Rhea and Rebekah silently walked out of the room where they had just helped plan their brother's murder.

"Let´s just get this over with." Elena said with a sigh as she knelt on the ground next to Mikael's grey skinned body and then pulled the dagger out of his chest with all of her strength.

"Why didn't he ask he speak to me?" they heard Rheanna ask her sister jokingly as they left the room making the Salvatore brother's smirk in amusement while Elena scoffed at the comment.

>>>>

Rhea POV:

I tried to ignore the grey, desiccated body of my father in the middle of the room as I painted my toenails a deep purple colour that matched the dress that Rebekah had chosen for me to wear to the homecoming dance that night. I pursed my lips together when I heard the unmistakable gasp coming from Mikael as he suddenly woke up from the coma like state the dagger had rendered him in.

"Finally. Took you long enough." I stated haughtily without looking up from my toes as he coughed sightly from the lack of air in his lungs.

"Rheanna." He breathed out in a slightly awed voice and I glanced up to lock eyes with him as my face composed in one of indifference.

"Whatever fatherly rubbish you´re thinking- save it. Nothing you say matters to me." I told him in a dangerously quietly voice as I blindly twisted the lid onto the purple nail polish.

"I see. Where is my dagger?"

"Elena has it. So you can forget your plans to use it on me or Rebekah." I said to him through narrowed oak coloured eyes and he frowned at me as his hazel eyes widened slightly in surprise.

"You two were never who I was after." He informed me as he climbed to his feet on the mat in the middle of the room and I slowly stood up warily as I kept my eyes on him at all times.

"Nik was my family. If you were after him, you were after me."

"He blinded you, Rheanna. He killed your mother!" Mikael hissed at me furiously as he took a threatening step closer to me and I stared back at him in defiance even though my instincts were telling me to run.

"I know what he did, and he´ll pay for it with his life. But Nik was not born a killer- none of us were! You did this to us when you turned us into vampires! You destroyed our family. Not him. I don't speak as though you are completely innocent. I know that you slaughtered nearly half of the villagers when you found out the truth. Do not pretend that you haven't killed for the pleasure of it. I have. Rebekah has. Even Elijah, with his morals has killed. It is part of the curse you and mother placed on us 1000 years ago. You forget that I was a servant of nature before I turned and I know the consequence of such dark magic." I explained to him angrily as I stood my ground without showing the fear that kept into my heart at his presence. After running from him for 1000 years it was hard to be in the same room as him without fearing for my life or Rebekah's.

"Rheanna…" he started to say softly but I just shook my head sadly as tears threatened to fall but I held them at bay and walked determinedly to the door without looking back at the man that was my father.

>>>>

Elena POV:

Damon and I were in his bedroom preparing the weapons that we were going to use that night as I thought about what Bonnie had said earlier about Jeremy.

"We can't trust Rebekah and Rheanna not to turn on us." I told him pointedly as I threw a wooden stake down on the bed and ignored the jealousy that I felt when I spoke the honey haired Originals name. It annoyed me that Rheanna and Stefan had shared a relationship in the 20's but what made it worse was that she was extremely hard to hate.

"Oh really? Cause these Original vampires are usually so reliable." Damon said sarcastically from his bathroom and I rolled my eyes at his reply as I turned around to face him.

"Bonnie was right. They may be mad at Klaus now but - he is their brother."

"Their lying, mama- killing, dagger- happy brother. Wolfsbane is ready." Damon told me as he looked up from the sink where he was mixing the wolfsbane soaked water and I strolled over to stand next to him.

"There are too many things that can go wrong with this plan. Too many people that can make it go wrong." I said mostly to myself as I ignored his mocking comment about Klaus.

"Well, I am formulating a secret contingency plan." The eldest Salvatore brother told me as he glanced at me out of the corner of his eyes and wiggled his eyebrows up and down.

"Really? What is it?" I asked him excitedly as I turned my body to face him full on but he just shook his head at me.

"Well, if I told you, then it wouldn't be a secret."

"I need to borrow a tie." I heard a familiar voice say from behind me and I ignored the slight pickup of my heart rate as I turned around to see Stefan in the doorway to Damon's bathroom.

"You have your own ties." Damon told his brother in a bored tone without looking up from what he was doing.

"Hmm- I'm a 162 years old and I'm going to a Homecoming Dance. I need better ties." Stefan said to him as his light green gaze swept over me before turned back to his brother and I pursed my lips together in annoyance.

"You could not go." I suggested to him even though I knew that he would be coming to the dance with or without a stupid tie.

"I'm compelled to protect you. And if I look at your track record at High school Dances- it's pretty tragic. With my luck you'll go and get yourself murdered by the Homecoming Queen..." he trailed off with a mocking smile on his lips as I rolled my eyes at him before he turned around and left the room to find a tie to wear. I turned back to the sink and picked up an empty wolfsbane grenade only to have Damon to softly slap my hand.

"Ah- ah! No!" he protested said as I tried to ignore the slight fluttering feeling in my stomach when his cold skin touched mine.

"I know how to do it! Alaric taught me!" I told him in an offended tone as he carefully manoeuvred the grenade out of my hand.

"Elena! If this thing blows up in our face- just remember: only one of us heals quickly." He said to me with a smirk on his lips as he looked at me with a concerned look in his electric blue eyes and I felt my heart flutter a little as I let him take the grenade without too much fight. I heard footsteps approaching the bathroom and turned my head to see Stefan walking back into the room with a handful of colourful ties.

"Ah- please tell me that you have a better plan than wolfsbane grenades?" Stefan asked in a sceptical voice as he leaned on the door frame and I bit my lower lip as the sight of him made me feel a mixture of different emotions.

"Never your mind, brother. The less you know the better." Damon told him as he filled up a wolfsbane grenade and I raised my eyebrows at Stefan in defiance.

"His freedom from Nik rests entirely upon you two executing your plan perfectly. It's understandable that he's a tad anxious." A melodic British voice state from behind Stefan and we all turned to see Rheanna walking into the room in a beautiful deep purple dress looking like a freaking supermodel.

"Thank you." Stefan said to her with a smirk on his lips as she moved to stand next to him in the doorway and she nodded with a smile as he visibly checked her out. I tried to disregard the envious feeling in my stomach when I saw him looking her over and the lustful gleam in his light green eyes. I blinked the feeling away as he turned his head back to look at me. "Excuse me if I'm a bit cynical."

"You're the one that we should be worried about. If Klaus asks you one wrong question- whole thing falls apart." I spat at him harshly as I purposely turned my head away from the two of them together.

"You do have reason to worry, but if I look back in our history of epic plan failures, it's usually because one of us let our humanity get in the way. Upon taking odds on how this thing goes down, it's certainly not gonna be me who screws it up."

"Don't be rude, Stefan." Rheanna scolded him lightly and I turned to look at her in surprise that she standing up for me but her oak brown eyes were locked on to Stefan's. "People have the ability to surprise you when you least expect it."

"That's our issue." I heard Damon mutter to himself beside me and I bit down on the inside of my cheek to stop the onslaught of words that I wanted to spew at the pretty Original in front of me. as much as I tried to hate her for everything her brother had done to me, it was hard to ignore the fact that she was kind, compassionate and understanding. Even Caroline had taken a liking to the honey haired Original twin and she was known to hold a grudge.

"Well, I'm going hunting before the dance." Rheanna announced with a soft smile in my and Damon's direction and Stefan's instantly perked up as he pushed off of the door frame.

"Ooh! Do you want some company?" Stefan asked her almost seductively as he leaned towards her a little and I ignored the jealous clenching in my stomach as Rheanna giggled. I watched as she placed a dainty hand on his chest and gave him a small push away from her as she shook head at him.

"Be careful, Rhea. Half the town is on vervain." Damon warned her as he pointed a finger in her direction and I frowned in confusion as I looked over my shoulder at him because I wasn't aware that the two of them were close enough that he called her by her nickname. I guess it made sense since she lived in the same house as him but I hated the way the jealous I felt at the original picked up now that I knew she also had the eldest Salvatore wrapped around her finger.

"Oh, I'm actually going to give 'Humanity Stefan's' animal diet a try." She replied with a smirk on her lips as Stefan groaned at her and Damon quirked an eyebrow in surprise so she sighed dramatically. "It's in honour of Lexi." She explained with a sad smile at Stefan who blinked once at her and I frowned as I thought a quick flash of something in the depths of his light green eyes.

"You knew Lexi?" Damon asked her in surprise as he put on the now full wolfsbane grenade on the counter top and turned to face her with his hip leaning on the sink counter.

"She was a friend of mine. Mother, daughter, sister." Rheanna informed us all in a sad tone as she blinked back tears and then gave a dark smile at sent chills down my spine. "Her killer bet pray that I find them before Elijah does." She warned us in a threatening tone of voice before she gave a cheerful laugh as her face melted back into the sweet mask she always wore and I was reminded that as nice as she seemed she was still a vampire. Rheanna spun on her as she blew the Salvatore brothers a kiss and strolled out of the room with a skip in her step. I frowned in concern as Stefan, Damon and I shared a worried look because we all knew that Damon was the one who staked Lexi.

>>>>

3rd Person POV:

Rebekah stood in front of the full length mirror in her room as she studied the short, red cocktail dress that she was wearing with blonde head tilted to the side. She was supposed to wait for Rheanna to get ready together but she was too excited to wait any longer while Rhea was out hunting because she wanted to give Stefan's pre-ripper animal blood diet a try. Rebekah smiled slightly at her reflection as she ran a hand gently down the front of the dress and looked up to see Elena standing in the doorway of the bedroom.

"Getting a head start, huh?" the doppelgänger asked her with a small smile on her lips as she looked at the pretty Original.

"Embarrassing truth? This is my first high school dance." Rebekah told her with a hint of amusement in her voice as she continued to stare at her reflection as though it would disappear if she looked away even for a moment.

"Ever?" Elena asked in a mixture of awe and surprise as she pushed herself off the door frame and walked a few feet into the room that Rebekah had claimed as her own while staying at the Salvatore Boarding House.

"I never really had time for high school before. Nik, Rhea and I were always moving around, running." She explained sadly as she smiled shyly at Elena in the mirror before she remembered that the doppelgänger was the person standing in the way of her twin sister getting back together with Stefan. Rebekah knew that even if Rhea didn't want to admit it she definitely still had feelings for the younger Salvatore. "Anyway- I didn't want to leave anything to chance. Have you heard any more from him?"

"No. But I'm sure that when he does return he'll do it with flair." Elena replied to her immediately knowing that she was talking about Klaus as she rolled her deep brown eyes.

"And Damon and my father are all set with their plan?"

"Yes." Elena answered her a little hesitantly as she walked to stand closer to where Rebekah was standing in front of the mirror.

"Don't tell me. I don't want to know, I just- I want to go to the dance and leave the rest to Mikael." Rebekah told her as she shook her head dismissively as she closed her cerulean blue eyes for a moment before opening them again.

"I know it's really hard. So thank you for helping us get Klaus back into town."

"Just be careful." The Original cautioned as she turned around to face Elena with a concerned look on her pretty face that made the doppelgänger frown. "I've been running for a thousand years for a reason. Mikael is not a good person and he definitely can't be trusted. No one in my family can."

"Are you okay?" Elena asked her as she frowned in worry when she noticed the tears that were starting to form in the corners of the Originals cerulean blue eyes.

"I've spent my whole life loving and hating my brother with equal measure. I never thought that I'd be the one to help drive a stake through his heart. No tears- I don't want to ruin my makeup." Rebekah said in a fake happy voice as she gave a little chuckle and turned around to face the full length mirror once again as she carefully checked her makeup to make sure nothing was out of place before smiling shyly at Elena through the reflection in the glass. "How do I look?"

"You look amazing!" Elena told her honestly with a smile as she step up to stand right behind her and Rebekah ducked her head a little modestly before she felt a sharp pain in her back. Elena drove the dagger further into the blonde's heart through her back as Rebekah gasped in a mixture of pain and surprise as she slowly turned grey while she desiccated.

"I'm so sorry. I can't leave anything to chance either." Elena apologised sincerely with tears in her dark brown eyes as Rebekah looked at her in the mirror with betrayal in her pretty blue eyes as she finally succumbed to the dagger in her heart.

>>>>

Rhea POV:

"Are you okay?" I heard a familiar voice ask me from the doorway and I spun around on my heel to see Elena leaning in the doorway wearing a beautiful blue cocktail dress with her long brunette hair perfectly styled. I gave her a slight smile before I turned back to look at my reflection in the full length mirror and tugged gently at the hem of the purple cocktail dress I was wearing.

"I'll be okay when this is over." I told her honestly with a sigh as I glanced down at my high heeled feet before looking back at the doppelgänger through the reflection in the mirror and gave her another smile as she pushed herself off of the door frame.

"You look absolutely amazing, but you're missing one thing." She told me with a slight half smile on her lips and I tilted my head to the side in confusion as I looked down at my outfit in concern. I looked back up just as Elena was pulled out a familiar silver necklace from her little blue purse and I gasped in surprise as my hand flew to my neck where the pendent had rested for over 1000 years.

"My mother's necklace." I breathed out in awe as hot tears sprung to my eyes at the sight of it and Elena smiled at my reaction as I shook my head at my myself for acting so childish over a simple necklace but I knew that it was my most prized possession.

"You should wear it tonight. May I?" she asked as she gestured to my neck with her hand and I nodded rapidly in agreement as I watched her approach me from behind with the necklace in her hand. Her small hands wrapped the thin silver chain around my throat and I gingerly touched the pendent as she clicked the lock in place behind my neck.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, Rhea." She told me with a soft smile on her lips making me smile back at her genuinely maybe for the first time before something that she said clicked in my mind and my face contorted into a frown of confusion.

"You just called me Rhea…" I started to say to her uncertainly and her pretty features scrunched up in misunderstanding. "You never call me Rhea."

"I told them I wouldn't be able to fool you." 'Elena' said to me as her face changed into a smirk and I frowned in confusion as I focused on the depths of her deep brown eyes. My eyes widened in realisation as I recognised the hard edge that replaced the innocence that rested in Elena's.

"Katerina…" I stated in a soft voice as tears filled my eyes and her pretty face softened into an apologetic frown before I felt her hands wrap around my neck.

>>>>

Darkness filled my every sense as something cold and hard rested on my back and I groaned out loud in discomfort. I blinked my eyes as I grumbled something unintelligible even to my own ears and then rolled over onto my side but found that it was still uncomfortable in that position. I slowly opened my eyes lids to see nothing but darkness surrounding me and I reached up to move some of my honey coloured hair out of my eyes. I carefully pushed myself up so that my back was leaning up against the hard wall and looked all around the small cell-like room that I was in. I frowned in confusion as I closed my eyes and tried to remember how I had gotten to be in this predicament.

"Katerina." I breathed out in a sigh as I remembered that she had snapped my neck and effectively rendered me unconscious. I opened my eyes again as I gradually used the concrete wall behind me to stand up on wobbly legs as I noticed that I was still wearing the purple homecoming dress. I slipped off the high heels that I was wearing so that it would be east to manoeuvre around the room before walking over to the heavy door to the side of the room.

"You awake yet, princess?" I heard Damon ask in an amused tone and I immediately relaxed a little at the sound of his voice before I realised that he must have been the one to lock me in here. My muscles tensed as I heard his footsteps get closer to the door and I moved back a little as the door slowly opened with a thin stream of light increasing with each inch. I stood open straight as the eldest Salvatore brother appeared in the doorway but I didn't try to make a run for it even though I knew that I could easily hurt him or run away. The raven haired vampire smirked at me as he leaned on the door frame and I frowned at him with a mask of indifference on my face. "What? Not happy to see me?"

"That depends. Are you here to let me out? Or I don't know, tell me why the hell I'm in here in the first place?" I asked him in a snappy tone as I crossed my arms over my chest and cocked my hip to the side while he quirked an eyebrow at me.

"Well, I couldn't very well have you changing your mind at the last second and warning your dagger-happy rage-a-holic brother that we were going to kill him."

"So, Nik is dead then?" I asked him in monotone voice as I felt sorrow and guilt swell in my stomach because I had played a part in the death of my brother but Damon slowly shook his head in annoyance.

"Nope." He replied as he popped the 'p' in the word and I frowned in confusion as I tilted my head to the side. "My brother decided to save his ass."

"What happened exactly?" I asked him in a mixture in curiosity and concern as I straightened up and let my arm fall to my sides while Damon sighed dramatically like telling me the story would be a massive annoyance for him. The eldest Salvatore told me the story of what happened that night and I had slowly sunk down to the ground as I listened to him in rapture. "Mikael's dead?"

"Yeah. Klaus killed had with his own dagger."

"He's gone?" I asked him as hot tears sprung to my eyes in happiness that the man that I had spent 1000 years running from was finally gone from my life forever and I looked up at Damon almost pleading for him to tell me what I wanted to hear.

"He's gone." He assured me as his features softened slightly and I nodded my head slowly as I small smile broke out across my lips. I ducked my head to look at the ground as happy tears leaked from my eyes and ran down my cheeks like little streams. I was so happy that my family was finally safe from our father. Rebekah and I were safe.

"Rebekah. Is Rebekah okay?" I asked Damon in a panic as I stood up from where I was sitting cross legged on the concrete ground and Damon raised both his eyebrows at me.

"Barbie Klaus is fine. Daggered, but fine." He answered me with a dismissive shrug of his shoulders and I sighed in relief that she wasn't dead because I didn't trust Mikael not to hurt her as I slowly nodded my head in understanding.

"She was daggered for the same reason I was killed?" I asked him in an angry hiss as I narrowed my oak coloured eyes at him and he raised both hands up in surrender as I stalked forward a little.

"It was a precaution."

"It was regrettable mistake." I stated threateningly as I stepped closer to him and he quickly ran out of the cell before closing the heavy door in my face. I tried to pull open the door with all my strength but it didn't move an inch as I grunted with effort and then I huffed impatiently before stepping back a few steps with my hands on my hips. "What is this door made of?"

"Are you calm yet?" Damon asked me in an amused tone and I snarled at the door where his face came from. "I'll take that as a 'no'."

"Damon, let me out of here!" I demanded furiously as I pounded my fist on the door but he just laughed at my request so I growled in an animal like fashion.

"I'm going to let you calm down and come back in a few hours." The eldest Salvatore responded to me before I heard the sound of his retreating footsteps and I sighed in defeat that the door would not be opening under my strength so I sunk down to the concrete floor with my arms wrapped around my knees as I brought my knees up to my chest.


	9. The New Deal

Rhea POV:

"Are you ready to leave yet?" a familiar voice cracked into my peaceful dreams so I tiredly blinked my eyes against the new bright light that was streaming into my makeshift prison. My veins were scratching together thanks to the lack of blood in my system but I ignored the discomfort as I turned my head to the side to see Damon leaning in the open doorway with his arms crossed over his chest. I grimaced slightly at the arrogant smirk that was seemed to be permanently etched onto his face and turned my head away from him as I closed my eyes again.

"You should know that once I'm out of here, I'm going to track down my sister and undagger her." I told him honestly as I leaned my head back against the concrete wall behind me where I sat on the hard ground.

"Yeah… I can't let you do that. You see, Rebekah is probably going to want to kill Elena for daggering her and I'm not about to let that happen." Damon explained nonchalantly as I opened my eyes again with effort to glare at him heatedly.

"Maybe that's what she deserves."

"I thought you were the compassionate one." He said with a trace of amusement in his voice and I just rolled my eyes at him before closing my eyes again. "Alright then, if you're going to be all overly dramatic…."

"I am." I interrupted him without opening my eyes as I stretched my legs out in front of me and I knew that he was rolling his electric blue eyes at me.

"… then I'm going to let you stay in here and think about your actions, young lady." He finished in a mock-stern teacher like voice and I ignored him as I listened intently to the sound of retreating footsteps. I let out an audible sigh as I tilted my head to the side and tried to get some more sleep since there was nothing else to do.

>>>>

Elena POV:

I stood in the middle of the Grill watching Damon nervously as he played darts in his drunken state. Ever since our epic failure the night before the eldest Salvatore had been drowning his sorrows in alcohol and it was starting to concern me.

"You okay?" I asked him warily as he threw the dart at the board across the room and he turned his head slightly to give me a half smirk.

"What makes you think I'm not okay?" he asked me as he looked away back to the dart board and lined up the next shot.

"Well, you're day-drunk. It's not exactly your most attractive look." I said without thinking and immediately slammed my lips together when his head snapped around to face me.

"Hmm- what is my most attractive look?" he asked me teasingly with a flirty glimmer in his pretty blue eyes and my heart rate picked up slightly as he took a few steps closer to me.

"Ahaha- I'm not saying you have any attractive looks. I'm saying this is my least favourite one..." I flirted back lightly out of instinct as I placed a hand gently on his muscular chest and he glanced down at where my hand rested before glancing back into my eyes.

"Noted. See if I can make any improvements."

"Don't mind me." a familiar British accented voice said from behind me and I immediately stiffened in fear.

"Klaus." I greeted him in contempt as I glared at him heatedly and I noticed Damon step in front of me slightly to block me from the hybrids view.

"You gonna do this in the Grill? In front of everyone? It's a little beneath you, don't you think?" Damon asked him as he narrowed his bright blue eyes at the hybrid and I tried to keep the fear off of my face so that he wouldn't see it.

"I don't know what you are talking about. I just came down to my local pub to grab a drink with a mate." Klaus corrected with a smirk before he looked over his shoulder and followed his gaze to the jogger that had been following me earlier today. I bit back a startled gasp at the sight of him and automatically took a step closer to Damon. "Get a round in, would you Tony?"

"I'm surprised you stuck around town long enough for happy hour." Damon spat at him in anger when he noticed that I had tensed at the newcomer's presence.

"My sisters seem to be missing. Need to sort that out." Klaus told him as he glanced nonchalantly around the room in case either Rheanna or Rebekah were there and I managed to hold back a guilty flinch as I remembered what I had done to Rebekah.

"Cute blonde bombshell, psycho. Shouldn't be too hard to find."

"Hmm. And Rheanna?"

"The brunette one is probably following Stefan around like a lost puppy." Damon lied to him as I glared heatedly at Klaus over his shoulder.

"Huh, well the truth is I've grown to rather like your little town. Think I might fancy a home here. Oh, I imagine you're wondering how does this is affect you. The answer is: not in the slightest. Unless I get what I want and everyone behaves themselves you can go on living your little lives however you choose. You have my word."

"What more could you possibly want?" I asked him spitefully as I took a small step closer to him but Damon grasped my wrist in his hand to stop me and Klaus smirked at me as though my courage amused him.

"Well for starters, you can tell me where I might find Stefan." He told us in more of a demand and I quirked an eyebrow at him in surprise because I had thought that after Stefan had saved Klaus they would be on good terms.

"Stefan skipped town the second he saved your ass." Damon hissed at him angrily and the hybrid just smirked at him in amusement like he had a secret that we don't know.

"Well you see that is a shame. Your brother stole from me. I need him found so I can take back what's mine."

"That sounds like a Klaus and Stefan problem." I said bravely as I narrowed at my dark brown eyes at him and he just turned to look at me before moving a small step closer to me. Damon stepped in between us so that he wouldn't get to me but Klaus just smirked at just as though this confirmed something for him.

"Ha. Well this is me broadening the scope, sweetheart."

>>>>

Rhea POV:

I heard something squeezed outside the door but I was too tired to even open my eyes to see if the noise was a threat to me. My breaths were shallow as tired was all of my strength to stay conscious even though I was pushing the last of my energy. My veins were rubbing together like sandpaper because I hadn't drank any blood since yesterday and even then it was only animal blood so I wasn't up to my normal strength. The loud screeching of the heavy metal door opening echoed throughout the small cell I was being kept in but I didn't turn my head to face them.

"Rheanna?" a familiar female voice broke into my thoughts and I struggled to put a face and name with the face thanks to my lack of blood. "Rheanna, it's Caroline. Can you hear me?"

"Caroline?" I whispered hoarsely when I finally recognised who it was talking to me and I struggled to turn my head in the direction her voice was coming from. 

The smell of blood invaded my senses and I immediately felt my vampiric features come to life as I lunged forward blindly to sink my teeth into the blood source. My fangs hit a thin layer of plastic so I knew that it was a stolen hospital blood bag that I was currently drinking from and I moaned in pleasure as the delightful taste of blood filled all of my senses. The euphoric feeling slowly faded as I drank the last of the blood from the bag and slowly blinked up my eyes to see a familiar looking blonde vampire crouched next to me tentatively. Caroline nervously took the now empty blood bag from my hands and I offered her a small smile of appreciation. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"What are you doing down here, Caroline?" I asked her curiously as I straightened up slightly from my sprawled position leaning against the hard concrete wall behind me and blinked a few times in a row to get the moisture back in them.

"Elena told me that you were down here." She replied as she moved over to stand leaning against the wall across from me and I frowned at her as I folded my hands on my lap over my purple homecoming dress.

"That didn't answer the question, petite luciole." I reminded her patiently as I tilted my head to the side slightly as I took in the slightly defeated slump of her shoulders and the tired look in her usually vibrant blue eyes. Caroline looked over at me sharply when I used the nickname that I had elected for her and I waited unwaveringly for her to make up her mind whether or not to tell me the truth as to what brought her to see me.

"I have a question for you." She finally explained to me with a weary sigh as she looked away from me and ran a hand through her messy curly blonde hair.

"What's on your mind?"

"What do you know about sire bonds?" Caroline asked me suddenly as her blue eyes stared down at me pleadingly and I felt my blood run cold at her words. An abrupt surge of worry urged me to my feet so fast that Caroline blinked in shock when I stood in front of her quickly and grabbed hold of her shoulders gently as my fingers probed her skin.

"Please, tell me that you aren't sired to someone!" I ordered her sternly as I looked into her blue eyes imploringly and she stared back at me with terrified wide eyes as she shook her head rapidly in denial. I breathed a sigh of relief as I removed my hands from her shoulders and nodded once before stepping back from her to give her room now that I had frightened her. "I apologise for scaring you, petite luciole, but sire bonds are not something to fool around about."

"What does it mean?" she asked me in a small timid voice and I frowned at her in worry as I slowly sat back down on the camp bed that was in the cell for me to sleep on.

"A sire bond is a rare phenomenon that occurs when a vampire has an emotional connection to their sire." I explained to her as I got comfortable on the bed and watched her warily as she rubbed up and down her arm nervously. "Why? Why are you asking, Caroline?"

"No reason." She lied quickly as she glanced at the heavy door that led out of the cell and I quirked an unbelieving eyebrow at her answer when as looked back at me. She sighed in exasperation when she saw that I didn't believe her and when bit her lower lip as debated with herself internally. "Tyler is sired to Klaus. Apparently, sire bonds are more common with hybrids."

"I'm sorry, petite luciole." I told her sadly as she looked down at the ground and she looked back up at my words with tears in her eyes so I offered her a small smile. She gave me a watery smile in return as I patted the place on the bed next to me and she slowly walked over to sit next to me.

"We broke up because of it." She said to me when she was settled on the camper bed next to me and I nodded in understanding as I wrapped an arm around her shoulder in a half hug.

"You know what we need?" I asked her lightly with a smirk on my lips and she shook her head in answer as she looked at me with teary blue eyes. "Tequila and ice-cream."

>>>>

3rd Person POV:

A knock sounded on the front door of the Salvatore Boarding House and Elena Gilbert walked determinedly to the heavy wooden door. She took a deep breath to steady herself before she swung it open to reveal Niklaus Mikaelson standing on the other side.

"Thank you for coming." Elena greeted the hybrid with a grim look on her pretty face but Klaus just walked passed her into the house.

"I trust you have news of Stefan." Klaus stated more than asked as he walked further into the Boarding House and Elena watched him carefully as he turned around to face her with a quirked eyebrow in question.

"I couldn´t find him. But I have something else." She told him sternly as she walked passed him towards the staircase that lead to the cellar and Niklaus followed her curiously to see what the doppelgänger was talking about. Elena slowly made her way down the steep set of stairs until she reached the bottom and then walked directly to the first door on the right before stopping in front of it. She opened the heavy door to reveal Rebekah Mikaelson's desiccated grey body with her red homecoming dress in on and a dagger lodged in her back.

"My poor sister. I can´t turn my back on her for a moment." Klaus stated sadly as he saw her lying on the ground before he slowly walked over to crouch down next to her and then gently moved a strand of blonde hair off of her face.

"You have Rebekah. A deal is a deal."

"The life of my sister in exchange for your brother? Yeah I´d say that´s a bargain. Consider him spared. Now, where is Rheanna?" Klaus asked menacingly as he stood up from his spot next to his sister and Elena swallowed sharply at the heated glare he was sending her way.

"We only had the one dagger so we had Katherine snap her neck so that we could lock her up in another cell down her. You should know I was the one that daggered Rebekah. When she wakes she´ll come after me." Elena explained to him as she tried to keep her gaze fixed solely on his light blue eyes in a show of courage that she didn't truly feel.

"I can control Rebekah. Besides I still need your help finding Stefan."

"I told you I don´t know where he is." Elena protested lamely as she took a step back from him and he crouched down besides Rebekah's dead body again in order to pull the dagger out of her back.

"You´re lying. Fortunately you have no shortage of loved ones. If I don´t find my family the question you should be asking yourself is who´s gonna die next! Bonnie? Caroline? Damon? It´s only a matter of time before Stefan gives me what I want." Klaus threatened darkly as his eyes narrowed into slits and Elena shook her head slightly in denial as she looked down at Rebekah's body warily.

"He doesn´t care about me anymore. You made sure of that. You turned him into a monster. Now he´s your problem. And just so you know I´m not the only one that Rebekah wants dead. She and Rheanna both know what you did to your mother. They know that you killed her. After you Rheanna from the cell next door, you can let yourself out." Elena told him harshly as she glared at him through dark brown eyes before turning on her heels and striding out of the room determinedly.

Niklaus sighed in defeat as he glanced down at his baby sister's desiccated body before he walked out the door to find his other sister. He looked through the small barred window of the cell to see Rheanna Mikaelson sitting on a small fold out camp bed in her purple homecoming dress and her oak brown eyes closed due to exhaustion. His blue eyed gaze swept around the small cement cell and he smirked to himself when he saw the empty bottles of tequila and plastic hospital blood bags littering the floor around her.

"I see they're keeping you well fed and watered, little sister." Klaus announced his presence as he opened the heavy door easily but Rhea remained motionless as he walked into the room.

"I'm not an animal at the zoo, Niklaus." She said to him in her familiar British accent without opening her oak brown eyes and he smiled slightly at her. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I'm here to recuse you, of course." He replied sarcastically as he approached her slowly and she finally cracked up her eyes at glare at him in a way that would melt someone from the inside out.

"I'm not being held captive. I'm here of my own choosing. They have Rebekah and I refuse to leave without her."

"Not to worry, sweetheart. I have out sister with me." Klaus told her sincerely as she tilted her head to the side so that she could look up at him better before she nodded her head and slowly rose to her feet so that she was standing in front of him. He placed his hands behind his back so that they were resting directly over the stake that he had hidden there in anticipation of her rage.

"I know that you knew Rebekah and I helped try to kill you." Rhea stated calmly as she looked directly into her older brothers light blue eyes and he just stared back at her with an emotionlessly mask plastered on his handsome face. "I know that you lied about Mikael killing mother and I know that it was really you who ripped her heart from her chest. I'm prepared to forgive you for lying to me for 1000 years if you forgive me for my participation in your failed assassination attempt." She bargained in the same calm tone of voice and he just continued to look at her with a blank look on his face. "I also know that you have a dagger behind your back and if the tip comes within an inch of my skin I'm going to tear you limb from limb until you're a withering pile of blood on the floor. I understand that you're an immortal hybrid that will heal so I'll just keep doing it over and over again until I grow bored of it."

"When did you become so violent?" Klaus asked with a dark chuckle even though he was actually frightened of his normally compassionate sister because Rhea was usually the level-headed member of the family so when she threatened someone she really meant it.

"Sometimes you all forget that I am still a Mikaelson." She answered him with narrowed oak brown eyes that darkened with bloodlust and Klaus swallowed hard before nodding his head once in accent before Rhea smiled sweetly at him and she flounced out of the cell she had been kept in.


	10. Our Town

Rhea POV:

Niklaus and I hadn't said a word to each other as we made our way to the mansion that he was having renovated for our family to live in. 

We were now sitting together in silence on the comfortable lounge that was in the incomplete living room. I sipped the glass of scarlet liquid that Nik had given me from the kitchen and glanced around the large cavernous house.

"Nice house, Nik." I complimented my brother as I looked back over at him and he smirked smugly as his baby blue eyes swept around the room.

"Thank you, baby sister." He replied to me happily as he stood up from the couch and looked down at me from his superior height. "Your bedroom is up the stairs to the left."

"Okay." I said quietly as I stood up as well and stretched my arm over my head in an attempt to sooth my aching muscles. I closed my eyes with a slight sigh as I lowered my arms back down to my side before nodding at my brother once with a smile and then walking towards the elaborate staircase that lead upstairs to the second floor. 

I followed my older brother's directions until I came to a large set of double doors on the left side of the hallway and then I carefully pushed open the doors. I gasped out loud in surprise at the beautifully decorated room that I had just walked into and stepped slowly into the large bedroom as I looked around with wide eyes. The walls were painted a pure white except for one which was covered in an intricately patterned wallpaper in a purple floral design that matched the purple bedspread that covered the king size bed. I closed my mouth abruptly with a snap as I looked around the room in awe before I walked further into the room and turned towards the large set of double doors on the right side of the room. I carefully strolled towards the doors and turned the knob it open to reveal a massive walk-in closet decked out in the latest fashions all in my size. My mouth fell open into the shape of a perfect 'o' as I looked around the closed with tears coming to my eyes at the thoughtfulness at my normally cold brother harboured. I shook my head to clear away the thoughts as I grabbed the first pair of jeans that I saw and a button up deep red short that I threw on quickly before walking out of the room to thank my brother for my new bedroom. 

I slowly walked down the stairs with a content smile and then strolled into the living room where I could hear Nik moving around just in time to see one of his hybrids leaving him alone with a casket.

"Sweet dreams, Rebekah." I heard Nik say softly as he repositioned the dagger into my twin sister's heart and my eyes widened in horror before I flew across the room to grab his arm to stop him.

"What are you doing?" I cried as he pushed my away from him easily with his hybrid strength and I automatically put my hands behind me to break my fall as I landed on the ground. Nik carefully shut Rebekah's coffin with a soft click before turning around slightly to look at me with hard light blue eyes. "Mikael is dead! I thought that he was the reason you were keeping us locked in coffins!"

"It is. It was." He snapped at me angrily as I glared up at him with narrowed oak brown eyes and I pushed myself up a little so that I was sitting on the ground instead of lying sprawled at his feet.

"Then why is Rebekah still daggered? Why is Elijah? Kol has been carted around by you for a century and Finn close to 900 years! If Mikael was the reason you treated us like carry-on luggage, why are our siblings still lying dead in wooden boxes with daggers in their hearts!?" I asked him in a shouted as I stared up at him with wide eyes that demanded the truth from him and he glared back at me as he curled his hands into fists at his side.

"Because of your boy-toy Stefan Salvatore!"

"Excuse me?" I asked him in a quiet deadly voice as I slowly stood from my spot on the floor and he swallowed hard under my glare but didn't move.

"Stefan stole the other coffins." Nik explained quietly as though he was afraid of what I would do to the messenger but all I could do was blink back the tears that threatened to fall. I stared into his light blue eyes defiantly as he looked back at me until I closed my eyes in defeat and turned my head away. 

I slowly made my way over to the couch but I could still feel Nik's gaze burning into my back as I walked around from him. I sunk down onto the soft couch as soon as the backs of my knees hit the edge and I stared blankly out at nothing as I tried to process what my brother had just said. I felt more then saw Niklaus come and sit next to me on the couch but I refused to look at him in case he could see the betrayal and heartache in my eyes. "I'm sorry, Rhea."

"Please don't apologise. It makes it worse when you're out of character." I joked feebly as I turned my head slightly to see him giving me an amused smirk from the opposite side of the couch where he was sprawled with his arm over the back of the couch and his long legs crossed over each other. I sighed as I leaned back on the couch and closed my eyes against the pain I was feeling before rubbing a hand over my forehead. "You aren't really the one I go to in my times of emotional turmoil, Nik."

"Oh? And what am I the one you go to for?" he asked me in a forced amused voice and I opened my eyes slightly to squint at him in mock examination.

"You're the brother I go to when I want to talk about culture. Art, music, theatre, food. You are the perfect travel companion." I answered him honestly after a moment's hesitation and he looked back at me in shock that I had actually said something in his favour so I smiled at him weakly before turning my head away knowing that he wouldn't want me to see his momentary weakness.

"So, who would you go to for dealing with 'emotional turmoil'?"

"Rebekah." I replied instantly without even thinking about it because it was true that I could talk to her about anything and not feel judged for my actions while she could do the same with me. "Sometimes Elijah."

"Then what is Kol good for? Other than annoying us all to death?" Nik asked me with a roll of his baby blue eyes and I giggled lightly as I nodded in agreement with his comment about my youngest older brother.

"Kol is good for helping you forget your emotional turmoil." I answered him with a nod of my head as I turned to give Nik a small smile and he chuckled lightly in agreement as he nodded once.

"And Finn?"

"Finn is boring dolt you go to when you want to be put to sleep!" I exclaimed happily with a giggle as I folded my hands together on my lap and Nik laughed outright in a way that made his dimples stand out.

>>>>

3rd Person POV:

In the basement of the abandoned witch house, Damon Salvatore fiercely hit the locked coffin with a shovel in an effort to get it to open even though he knew it was useless. He narrowed his electric blue eyes in frustration as he panted in exhaustion because of the effort he had put into the bashing.

"You're wasting your time. It won't open." Stefan Salvatore informed his older brother as he descended down the stairs that lead to the basement and Damon turned to look at him with a annoyed look on his handsome face. "Did you bury the body?"

"Yeah. Any sign of our little hybrid buddies?"

"Nope, just the dead one." The younger Salvatore assured him as he walked down the last of the stairs and leaned against one of the coffins with his arms crossed lazily over his broad chest.

"Alright, Klaus has 7 siblings. Rebekah is now with Klaus. Rheanna is roaming freely probably waiting to kill us along with her brother. There was one dead kid in the old world, one dead kid in the new world, which leaves Elijah and two others. Three sleeping originals, four coffins. So, who is in the locked box?" Damon asked rhetorically as he turned his attention back to the mysteriously locked coffin that they had been trying to open and Stefan shrugged his shoulders carelessly as he followed his gaze.

"No idea. But whatever is in here, Bonnie seems to think will help us kill Klaus. So, the sooner she can get this open, the sooner we will know if she's right."

"Oh, you think the spirits of a bunch of dead witches that can make the coffins invisible would have figured out how to open one." Damon said tauntingly as he raised his voice and tilted his head towards the ceiling to look at the invisible witch spirits but nothing happened so he sighed impatiently as he lowered his head. "Fine, don't help."

"You know, none of this is gonna do us any good if Klaus' hybrid friends find our hiding place, right? They need to go away." Stefan told him as he crossed his ankle over the other and tilted his head to the side in silent contemplation as to what to do about the problem.

"Oh yeah, that's a great idea Stefan. Why don't you just ask them to pack their bags and take a long rest while we are at it." Damon responded sarcastically as he turned around to face his younger brother with a scrunched up expression on his face. "How about try to keep the peace? Don't attract attention to the real thing we are trying to hide."

"Well, I'm not gonna play defence when I have what Klaus wants. He does what I say, or I dump his family to the bottom of the ocean."

"And then he kills you and everyone you know like, I don't know... me!" Damon cried impatiently as he gestured to himself to further prove his point but Stefan just shook his head in denial.

"No, he's bluffing. His family means more to him than anything else." Stefan replied as he pushed himself off the coffin he was leaning on and Damon shot him an unbelieving look as flashing of Klaus ripping him to pieces crossed his mind.

"You sure about that?"

"Well I don't know Damon. I mean, I guess there's only one way to find out, right? Call his bluff." Stefan responded lightly as he headed towards the stairs that lead to the upper level of the abandoned witch house that they were hiding in and ignoring the scoff that came from his older brother.

"The only way to call someone's bluff, Stefan, is to be willing to lose everything if you're wrong." Damon called out to the younger Salvatore's back but all Stefan did was shoot him a smug smile before walking towards the stairs and ignoring his words of warning.

>>>>

Rhea POV:

I climbed out of the car that I had borrowed from Nik when I parked in front of Mystic Falls High School and frowned when I saw a familiar blonde standing not far away on the grass in front of the school. I jerked the strap of the bag I was carrying higher onto my shoulder before carefully walking over to Caroline as she looked down at something in her hand.

"Caroline." I called out hesitantly as I strolled closer to where she stood and her blonde head instantly snapped up in surprise when I appeared next to her with a worried frown on my lips.

"Oh, Rhea. Hi." She replied softly as her wide blue eyes shifted to look down at her hands again so I followed her gaze to see a silver charm bracelet with small a C, an F, a football helmet, and a cheerleader's megaphone among other charms dangling from her fingers.

"That's pretty." I complimented it as she gently probed the small charms that hung off the bracelet and she smiled sadly as she lifted her head to look at me with tears in her pretty blue eyes.

"Thanks. Tyler got it for my birthday." Caroline told me as she carefully put the bracelet around her thin wrist and did up the small lock so that it didn't fall off.

"It's your birthday?" I asked her happily with a genuine smile as the blonde nodded jerkily once and then cast an unreadable look at the school building so I followed her gaze suspiciously. "You know, it's your birthday, you can skip if you want to."

"Heh, thanks." She said to me with a small smile tugging at the edge of her lips and I placed my hand softly on the crook of her elbow as I guided her back towards the parking lot.

"Come on, petite luciole. I'll drive you home and then come back for your car." I informed her firmly as we reached my borrowed car and she nodded briefly as I opened the car for her so that she could slide into the passenger seat. I offered her a smile as I shut the door and walked over to the driver's side door so that I could jump in. I looked over at the quiet vampire in the passenger seat as I turned on the car and saw her staring down at her folded hands in her lap.

"Thanks for taking me home."

"It's fine. It's not just Tyler, is it?" I asked her knowing as I drove down the familiar route her the blonde's house and she made a scoffing noise in the back of her throat as her head snapped up to look at me in disbelief.

"You hardly know me! How can you be so good at reading me?" she asked in a slightly raised voice as her blue eyes widened and I chuckled lightly at her reaction without taking my eyes off of the road in front of me.

"I've been alive for 1000 years, Caroline. You pick up a thing or two in that amount of time."

"… 1000 years." Caroline repeated softly to herself as she turned her head to look out the passenger side window and I frowned at the back of her head in confusion but let it go because I figured she needed some time to think it over herself. 

I turned my gaze back to the front of the car so that we could drive in silence while Caroline mentally came to grips with what was bothering her and then smiled slightly at her when I noticed that she had turned away from the window to look at me with a curious expression. "How old were you when you turned?"

"17, why?" I asked her curiously as I tilted my head to the side slightly in confusion and her lips pressed together into a thin line.

"How did you deal with it?" she asked me sadly with large pleading blue eyes and I scrunched my eyebrows together in confusion. She must have seen my confused expression so she sighed dramatically at my lack of understanding before turning her body to face me more. "How do you deal with being stuck in a filler year? My birthday used to be my favourite day of the year but now, it's just a reminder that technically, I'm dead. Look, I didn't even like 17. And the only point to being 17 is to get to 18. It's a filler year; I'm stuck in a filler year." She ranted at me with slightly raised voice while waving her hands melodramatically in the air as she spoke making me laugh at her in amusement and she gasped indignantly at me. "And you're laughing at me! Stop laughing at me."

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, petite luciole." I said to her through little giggles as she scoffed at me and crossed her arms over her chest. "It's just that I've spent 1000 years being 17 and I can tell you right now, it's not all bad."

"How so?" she spat back at me disbelievingly with a scoff in my direction and I smiled at her in amusement as I shook my head slightly.

"College. I have 3 degrees because I was able to compel my way into Stanford, Penn State and Oxford." I told her modestly with a shrug of one my shoulders and she gaped at me for a minute before nodding slightly.

"What else?"

"Well, not to sound conceited but I'll always be super attractive." I joked with a wide grin and an obnoxious wink in her direction that she laughed at genuinely for the first time since I picked her up. I pulled to a stop in her driveway and turned to smile at her with a reassuring look on my face so that she would know that I was being serious. "You have nothing to worry about, petite luciole."

"Thank you for talking me off the edge." Caroline said to me with a smile as she leaned her head back against the headrest and I turned the ignition off with a quick turn of the key. "I would invite in but my mom isn't home, you want to come around to the backyard for a while? I think I have more tequila in there."

"Sure." I agreed with a laugh that she followed as I remembered drinking with her when Tyler and she broke up. 

We both climbed out of the car silently as Caroline lead me up the driveway to the front porch so she could go in and grab the alcohol. I watched as she turned the key and slowly opened the door with a wide smile back at me as she stepped into the house when all of a sudden I heard footsteps on the wooden floor so I pulled Caroline by the arm so that I was standing in front of her protectively against whatever was inside. The blonde vampire gasped in surprise as I sighed in relief at the sight of Elena, Matt and Bonnie all standing in the front parlour with party hats and colourful balloons in their hands.

"Happy birthday…" Matt greeted us weakly with a confused expression on his handsome face as Elena and Bonnie before glared at me heatedly and Caroline placed a hand on my arm as she walked past me into the house.

"What are you guys doing here?" Caroline asked them in confusion as she stepped in front of me as though she could block the doppelgänger and witch's hatred with her body.

"What is she doing here?" Elena counted with a scowl on her pretty face as she nodded in my direction and Bonnie nodded in agreement with her question.

"Rhea drove me home and now we're going to have a drink." The blonde explained almost defiantly as she lifted her chin in the air and all three of the humans looked between us with confused eyes.

"It's fine, Caroline. Have a good birthday with your friends, petite luciole." I told her with a soft smile as I put a hand on her arm and she turned to look at me as she opened her mouth to disagree with me. "Really, Caroline."

"Okay…" she replied softly with an unsure look on her pretty face so I smiled at her reassuringly and then widened my eyes in surprise when she suddenly pulled me into a tight hug. "Thank you."

"It's not a problem." I responded to her as I wrapped my arms around her in return and tried to ignore the disbelieving looks Elena and Bonnie were spending us.

>>>>

I walked quietly next to my older brother in a respectable dark blue cocktail dress as he we strolled through the Founder's party at the Lockwood mansion with my hand resting in the crook of his elbow.

Nik had dragged me to the Founder's fundraiser to raise money to rebuild the Wickery Bridge so I had gotten changed into the dress he had thrown at me and allowed him to drag me to the party without much complaint. I smiled politely as we stood talking to Mayor Lockwood and Nik grinned charmingly at her as he tried to persuade onto his side.

"Look at what the cat dragged in." I heard a familiar male voice say to our right so I turned my head to see Damon strolling up to us with a smirk plastered on his lips. I raised one of my eyebrows as he looked over at me for the first time and made a show of looking me up and down in an exaggerated manner just to piss off my brother. "Rhea, nice dress."

"Thank you very much, Damon, I have a very good eye for dresses." Nik said to him in reply as he stepped in front of me protectively from the eldest Salvatore's roaming eyes and I rolled my eyes at the Alpha male show. "Good to see you, Damon. Carol and I were discussing about whether you would be the other big benefactor."

"What do you say Damon? Klaus has made a very generous pledge. You know how we're chomping at the bit to begin the renovation." Carol Lockwood said with a wide fake smile on her lips and I smirked at the obviousness behind her words but didn't say anything.

"Carol, don't take this the wrong way, but do you realize that you've been kissing the ass of an immortal hybrid who ruined your son's life?" Damon asked rhetorically as he turned his gaze from Nik to Mayor Lockwood with narrowed electric blue eyes and I glared at his words because I knew for a fact that Tyler was happier being a hybrid even with the horrid misfortune of having a sire bond.

"Oh, come now. Some would say that I saved him from all that nasty full moon business. I've never had to go through it myself more than twice, to be honest, but still, I'm very sympathetic." Nik said to Carol with an understanding smile on his face and I tightened my hold on his arm because I had seen his first transformation back when we were first turned into vampires.

"Klaus and Rhea have promised to protect Tyler, Damon. And our town." Carol responded pointedly to the younger vampire and I smirked a little at the affronted look on Damon's face.

"From who? His hybrids are the one the town needs protection from." Damon hissed dangerously as he glared at us and Nik smirked back at him unnerved at the threatening note in his voice.

"Well he'd have no use for them if your brother would kindly return our family." I finally spoke up in a calm voice even as my insides were boiling in rage and Damon snapped his glare around to me instantly.

"Not gonna happen."

"That's what I thought, which is why I've come to an agreement with the Mayor. You and the Council stay out of my hair, I stay out of yours. Your town gets protected, my hybrids get left alone and everybody will be happy. All you have to do is to get Stefan to stop decapitating my friends." Nik told him politely with a shrug of his shoulders as I took a flute of champagne from a passing tray that was being carried by a waiter.

"Please Damon, just get your brother under control or the Council will be forced to take action against him." Carol said to Damon with a raised eyebrow as I sipped my champagne even though the human world thought that I was still in high school.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Damon exclaimed in disbelief as he looked at all of us as though he was waiting for us to telling him we were joking.

"Oh come on mate, give peace a chance." Nik joked lightly with a smirk on his lips and I chuckled softly as I raised my glass in silent salute at Damon before taking another long sip from the flute. I watched in amusement as Damon shot him a heated look before stalking away from us angrily.

"I'm going to mingle." I murmured to Nik as I removed my hand from his elbow and he gave me a smile as he nodded once in understanding. I smiled back at him before I offered a polite smile to the mayor which was returned and then I walked through the party people watching as I sipped my champagne.

Twenty minutes later, I was making polite chit-chat with one of the older members of the community when Damon came up to us and grabbed my upper arm forcible.

"Excuse us." Damon insisted to the woman with a fake smile on his lips and then started pulling me away without waiting for a reply so I scowled at him but let him lead me towards where my brother was standing chatting with another stranger. 

Nik turned when he heard us coming towards him and frowned when he saw Damon's hold on my arm so I rolled my eyes in annoyance so he knew that I was alright despite how it looked. Damon jerked his head towards a set of double doors before he started tugging me in their direction and Nik followed behind us curiously to see what was going on.

"What now? You just pulled me away from a fascinating conversation about landscaping the Town Square." Nik stated as he waked further into what appeared to be a study and I yanked my arm out of Damon's grasp with a scowl.

"Stefan just grabbed Elena." Damon informed us with a frown as I sat down on the black leather lounge that was on the side of the room while Nik leaned on the desk with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Well, he's getting desperate."

"Elena's the desperate one." I muttered under my breath as I pouted my bottom lip out as jealousy invaded the pit of my stomach because Stefan was alone with Elena even though I had no claim to him and the fact that he had stolen my family was making me angry. Nik sent my an amused half smile to let me know he had heard my comment but I just rolled my eyes as I leaned back on the couch and crossed my arms over my chest defiantly.

"He's gonna try and use her against you. Do what he says, get rid of your hybrids." Damon said to my brother as he ignored my jealous grumbling and I was silently glad that he had because I wasn't very proud of my childish behaviour but Stefan had always made me act out of character.

"Or what? Stefan would never dream of killing her." Nik protested with a frown as he shot me a sympathetic look that I ignored as I played with the edge of my dress.

"You sure about that? He just tried to behead someone in the middle of a Council party. He's operating on crazy right now."

"Well, crazy or not, that kind of love never dies. He's bluffing." I said with a frown as I looked up from my lap to find both of the men looking at me with unbelieving looks and I rolled my eyes at them because I knew they were thinking. I was about to open my mouth to explain my point when Nik's cell phone rang loudly and interrupted what I was about to say. Nik spared a concerned glance at me as he reached into his pocket for his phone and then checked the caller ID before answering it with a grim smile etched onto his lips.

"Stefan, how nice to hear your voice." Nik greeted the youngest Salvatore on the other side of the phone line as Damon and I both stiffened at the sound of his name.

"Tell your hybrids to get out of town, Klaus." I heard Stefan's voice echo through the cell phone in my brother's hand as I straightened up and looked over at my brother with a quirked eyebrow.

"Well that's not gonna happen until I get my coffins back."

"Okay, well then I'm gonna drive your blood source off Wickery Bridge." Stefan bargained lightly as I could hear the sound of a car accelerating in the background of the phone call.

"I don't believe you Stefan. You won't kill her." My brother protested as pressed the speaker phone button on his phone so that Damon and I didn't have to use our vampire hearing to listen to the conversation.

"No! No! No! What are you doing?" I heard the unmistakable sound of a doppelgänger and I frowned in worry as I noticed Damon and Nik both stiffen.

"What's going on?" I asked in concern as I leaned forward slightly on the couch and brought my hand up to rest on my cheek.

"Rhea? I just fed her my blood. No more hybrids if she's a vampire." Stefan told us in a light voice and all of us in the study shared a wide eyed look full of worry.

"You won't do it." Nik said confidently even though I could see the anxiety in his light blue eyes and I scrunched my eyebrows together as I bit my bottom lips warily.

"Really? Try me, because your coffins are next to go. Say goodbye to your family Klaus."

"Stefan, slow down! Stefan! Stefan ,stop it!" Elena screamed through the phone line so I jumped out of my seat instantly before striding over to Nik and grabbing the phone out of Nik's hand.

"Stop the car, Stefan." I ordered him firmly because I knew that if Stefan were to kill Elena even just to turn her into a vampire he would be consumed by guilt.

"Fine, I'll send them away, you win." Nik agreed with me instantly and I felt a swell of relief even though I knew that concern expressed by him were not for Stefan but for his hybrid blood source. My eyes widened in panic when I heard the car on the other side of the line speed up to a dangerous degree.

"Stefan! Stefan, stop!" Elena screeched loudly through the phone and Nik grabbed the phone out of my hand again harshly so that my finger twisted backwards.

"Stop the car, Stefan!" Nik yelled into the phone and I let out a cry of pain as I placed my phalange back into the right place.

The car tires on the other side of the phone screeched to a stop to indicate that Stefan had listened to our request and Nik pressed the disconnect button. I closed my eyes in relief that Stefan wouldn't have to live with the fact that he had killed Elena and let body relax as Damon left the room to go find Elena while Nik fumed silently next to me. 

A shrill ringing interrupted our quiet shroud angry silence and I reached for my cell phone as I opened my eyes again to find Nik looking at me with a curious expression.

"Hello?" I answered hesitantly when I didn't recognise the number that was display and frowned in confusion as Nik watched me.

"Rheanna?" I heard a familiar male voice ask softly on the other side of the phone line and I frowned even more in confusion.

"Matt?"

"Rhea, listen, it's Caroline. She needs help." Matt informed me with panic tinted in his voice and I felt my insides freeze in worry over the young blonde vampire. "I'm not sure what exactly you are to each other but I saw you here earlier so I figured I'd give it a go. Tyler bit Caroline. She's dying."

"No." I whimpered quietly as my eyes filled with tears and I frowned when I saw Nik flinch slightly in my peripheral vision until realisation came over me. "Matt, take Caroline to her house and stay there. I'll be there shortly. Don't worry, Caroline will be fine, I promise." I told the blonde human as I stared at Nik with narrowed oak brown eyes and he looked down at the ground sheepishly.

"Okay." Matt agreed hesitantly before hanging up the phone quickly and I slipped the phone back into my purse before moving to stand right in front of my older brother.

"You either give me your blood willing or I take it by force, Niklaus."

>>>>

Caroline POV:

Everything hurt.

All I could think about was the pain that was coming from my shoulder where Tyler had taken a chunk out of me. Warm tears ran down my cheeks as I thought about the fact that I was going to die. A real death, not just vampire dead. I knew that Matt had called Rhea to try and get Klaus to give me the cure but I really doubt that he would. I didn't know why the honey haired Original was so affectionate towards me but I didn't real mind because I was nice to be wanted above Elena. My whole life I had been competing with her even though she was my best friend in the world. I closed my eyes tightly in an effort to try to blink away the tears because I hated crying. Crying was for the weak and Caroline Forbes was not weak. 

I heard footsteps come to a stop in my bedroom doorframe so I opened my eyes to see Klaus standing their looking hot as all hell, which totally annoyed me. But then again, if I was going to die, I might as well have something nice to look at.

"Are you going to kill me?" I asked him weakly as I looked up at him with tearful eyes and he frowned at me as though I had said something completely crazy.

"On your birthday? You really think that low of me?" he asked softly in that sexy British accent of his as he stepped closer and sat on the edge of my bed.

"Yes." I declared in a stronger voice than before and I tried to ignore the hurt that flashed across his handsome face at my words. He reached out a hand to gently remove the thin sheet that covered the bit mark and I grimaced slightly in pain.

"That looks bad. My apologies, you're what's known as collateral damage, it's nothing personal. Luckily, my sister has taken an interest in you." He said with a small smile that showed off his dimples and I had to mentally berate myself for thinking how cute they were. "I love birthdays."

"Yeah. Aren't you like...a billion, or something?"

"Well you have to adjust your perception of time when you become a vampire, Caroline." Klaus told me with laughter in his voice as his light blue eyes twinkled with amusement. "Celebrate the fact that you're no longer bound by trivial human conventions. You're free."

"No, I'm dying." I disagreed with him with a shake of my head that I immediately regretted when pain shot down my arm thanks to the werewolf bite.

"And I could let you die, if that's what you want. If you really believe your existence has no meaning. I thought about it myself, once or twice over the centuries, truth will be told. But I'll let you in on a little secret. There is a whole world out there, waiting for you. Great cities and art and music, genuine beauty. And you can have all of it. You can have a thousand more birthdays. All you have to do is ask."

"I don't wanna die." I told him honestly with tears stinging my eyes as I thought about what he said and what Rhea had told me earlier. Klaus lifted my head up since I wasn't strong enough to do it myself and offered me his wrist.

"There you go, sweetheart. Have at it." He said to me softly as I allowed my vampire face to come out and I bit into his skin with a sharp click of my fangs. "Happy birthday Caroline."


	11. The Ties That Bind

3rd Person POV:

Bonnie Bennet and Elena Gilbert stood together in the basement of the abandoned witch's house looking at the four coffins that Stefan had recently stolen from Klaus.

"I've been having these dreams for days now. It's like the witches are trying to send me a message." Bonnie explained to her best friend when she saw the confused look on the doppelgänger's pretty face and Elena just stared at the scene around her with an outraged expression.

"I just can't believe that you guys kept this from me this whole time."

"Stefan thought, if you knew where the coffins were, Klaus could threaten people to get the information out of you." The young witch informed her with an apologetic look on her face and Elena smiled slightly at her to let her know that it was alright.

"So, these are the rest of his family?" Elena asked as she turned around on her heel to look at the other three coffins in the room that held the other Mikaelson siblings.

"Yeah. Elijah and two others. Rheanna and Rebekah are with Klaus now, although Rheanna is still undaggered. This one... is the one we can't open. We don't know who is in it, or what's in it, only that I think my dream's telling me it'll help us kill Klaus." Bonnie told her as she turned around to face the coffin in the room that she couldn't open even with her powers.

Both of the girls were facing away from the staircase so they failed to notice that Stefan Salvatore had silently entered the basement and was now staring at the duo with an outraged expression on his handsome face.

"What the hell are you doing?" he asked the witch in an anger tone and both the girls up in surprise at the sudden noise as they spun around to face him.

"I needed her to know about the coffin." Bonnie defended herself as she crossed her arms over chest in defiance and Stefan took a threatening step closer to her as he cocked his head to the side.

"And I needed you to keep her out of it, Bonnie."

"So what are you gonna do, Stefan? Are you gonna kidnap me, so that I won't tell anyone?" Elena asked him bitterly as she glared heatedly at her ex-boyfriend through narrowed dark brown eyes.

"Don't tempt me, Elena." Stefan spat back at her with a mocking smile on his lips as he crossed his arms over his broad chest and Elena glowered at him as Bonnie rolled her eyes at their behaviour.

"I think I know, who can open the coffin, Stefan. And I need Elena to help me find her." Bonnie told the green eyed vampire as she stepped forward sightly to stand in front of Elena so that the doppelgänger didn't react to Stefan's taunting.

"Find who? What are you talking about?" he asked curiously as he looked over at Bonnie with a small crease in between his eyebrows as his face morphed into confusion.

"I couldn't place her face at first. Then I realized..." she trailed off as she reached into her pocket to retrieve the photograph she had placed there earlier in the morning and then passed it to an incredulously looking Elena with a small smile. The other girl took the photograph from her friend almost reluctantly before glancing down at it with a frown on her pretty lips and then gasped in realisation as her eyes widened in shock.

"Oh my god, Bonnie." Elena breathed out as she recognised the woman in the photograph and then glanced up at her friend with sympathetic eyes. Bonnie smiled back at her gratefully as Stefan sighed impatiently at them before stepping closer to Elena so that her could see the old photograph over her shoulder.

"Who is this?" Stefan asked them in confusion as he looked at the young attractive African woman in the photograph holding a small child with familiar dark brown eyes.

"It's my Mom." Bonnie admitted to him softly as she took the photograph back from Elena and the other girl rested a hand on her arm in silent reassurance.

>>>>

Rhea POV:

Niklaus lead me down the steps of an old abandoned house after we had met up at the grill when he rang to say he had found the coffins and I frowned as I looked around the house that my siblings were supposedly resting in. Nik looked glanced back at me with a small smirk on his lips that I returned quickly before he stepped off the stairs and I stopped next to him as I looked around the large empty basement until my gaze finally rested on Damon Salvatore who was standing in the middle of the room with a self-satisfied smirk.

"What took you so long? Hiding behind your witchy friends. And in squalor no less." Nik said scornfully as he glanced around the basement we were in and I rolled my eyes at his snobbish behaviour.

I screamed in agony as pain explode in my head and fell to my knees as fire burst through my brain like a bonfire had erupted behind my eyes. My hand flew up to clutch my hair as tears streamed down my cheeks and I glanced to my side to see Nik in the same position in was.

"Insulting a bunch of dead witches... not smart. I made the exact same mistake first time I came in here." Damon said arrogantly as he watched us wither in pain on the dirty floor and I whimpered slightly in pain as I glared at him heatedly through narrowed eyes.

"What did I do? I have respect for witches! I was a witch!" I shouted loudly so that the witch spirits could hear me as I closed my eyes tightly against the pain and then sighed in relief when the pain disappeared from my skull. I slumped against the floor on my knees as I panted and wiped the tears off my cheeks roughly.

"Well, you know, the funny thing about witches is that, living or death, they care about their own. A hundred dead witches have a thousand living descendants... And I have no problem, killing every last one of them, if I don't get my coffins back. As we speak, my hybrid friend is prepared to end the Bennett line." Nik spat at the witch spirits as I glared at him for threatening the witches and the pain in his head must have ceased because he stopped screaming in pain. He sighed in relief but before he could get up from the floor I had used my superior speed to slam my brother into the closest wall and he grunted in pain at the sudden contact with the wall. I glared at him through narrowed eyes as I rested into his chest to grip his heart in my fist and he glowered at me as his light blue eyes darkened dangerously.

"You're right, Niklaus. Witches care about their own." I informed him as I leaned in slightly at the same time that I had tightened my grip on his heart and he glared at me for a second before I released my hold on his heart. I slowly moved away from him as he straightened his jacket and I looked up to the ceiling as I purposely ignored Damon's quirked eyebrows at my actions. "Now... please... show me the coffins." I ordered the witch spirits sternly as I stood in the middle of the basement with my hands on my hips and three coffins suddenly appeared next to me so I smiled gratefully.

"Where's the fourth? Show me!" Nik yelled furiously as I spun around in a small circle with an elated smile on my lips and then I froze to look at my brother in confusion because there were only meant to be three coffins since Rebekah's body was hidden at the mansion.

"Well, here's the thing. They can't. It's not here." Damon told him lightly with an unconcerned shrug of his shoulders and I frowned in confusion as I looked in between the two.

"What did you do?"

"Well, Bonnie gave me the heads-up. I didn't have enough time, to get all four, but I did have time to get one." Damon replied with a sarcastic half smile and I watched cautiously as Nik took a threatening step closer to the younger vampire.

"I will tear you, limb from limb. And only then, when you're a riving mass of blood and flesh, will I rip your heart from your chest." My brother spat at the eldest Salvatore as his light blue eyes darkened with bloodlust and I took a step back from them in case the meeting got violent.

"Sorry. The same rules apply. You know, leverage and all. I know you want your family back. But something tells me, you want what's in that coffin a lot more." Damon said to Nik with a smirk on his lips before he left the basement without a backwards glance and I immediately turned to face my brother with an emotionless mask plastered on my face.

"What's in the fourth coffin, Nik?" I asked him in a monotone voice as I crossed my arms over my chest but he just ignored me as he left the room after Damon and I sighed in defeat as I turned back to look at the coffins my brothers were lying in with a sad smile.

>>>>

3rd Person POV:

Niklaus Mikaelson stood alone in the middle of his newly renovated mansion as one of his sired hybrids moved the caskets holding his siblings into the living room. 

Rheanna hadn't returned home after they had gotten their family back and Klaus was secretly glad of that fact because he didn't want to face her disappointed face when she found out that he had no plans on undaggering their siblings.

"You've got your family back. Finally. You gonna open them?" the hybrid asked him curiously as he looked back over at his master with a quirked eyebrow before walking slowly over to the large double doorway that separated the two rooms and Klaus eyed him for a moment in silent thought before striding over to stand next to one of the coffins.

"Not quite yet. I still have some unfinished business to take care of." He answered him honestly as he gently placed a hand down on what he thought was his younger brother Kol's coffin.

"What business?" the hybrid asked him incredulously before his mouth formed the shape of a perfect 'o' and Klaus' felt his light blue eyes widen in shock as the hybrid squirmed slightly before falling to the floor in a heap. 

The Original Hybrid looked up in surprise from the dead body on the floor to see a familiar person standing over the deceased hybrid with a bleeding heart in their hand.

"So, Niklaus..." the figure stated calmly as they took a handkerchief from their jacket pocket and began wiping their hands clean of blood.

"Elijah?" Klaus asked in a mixture of surprise and fright as he stared at his older brother with wide light blue eyes and Elijah inclined his chin slightly in recognition.

"What did I miss?"


	12. Flashback #2

New Orleans, 1888:

Rheanna Mikaelson rolled her pretty oak coloured eyes as she looked around at the extravagant ball that her older brother had thrown for some unexplainable reason. Her expense violet coloured gown stood out from the other girls in attendance and drew the deniable attention of men and women alike but all she could think about was getting away from the masses of people that had invaded her room for the evening. 

She glanced over to the side of the room where she saw a familiar blonde haired young woman in a burgundy gown standing in the middle of a swarm of men that were all vying for her attention. Rhea chuckled lightly at the scene in front of her as watched her twin sister smile falsely at whatever the man next to her was saying and frowned sympathetically when she noticed Rebekah stealing glances across the ballroom.

The honey haired Original followed her gaze until she saw a dark skinned young man standing next to their brother Niklaus. Marcel laughed loudly at something that Rhea couldn't hear and she scowled to herself as she stole a flute of champagne from a passing waiter. Even after a year of being woken up from being daggered for 52 years by Niklaus because she was in love with the then human Marcel, Rebekah still held a candle of affection for the young vampire. Rhea shook her head slightly at the dramatic turn of events and looked back out at the dance floor filled with happily waltzing couples.

"Having fun?" a familiar female voice asked her teasingly from behind making a genuine smile spread across her lips as she spun around to face the newcomer.

"Oh, yes. I'm the life of the party, Lexi." Rhea answered her friend's question with an overdramatic flip of her long honey hair and the tall blonde in front of her laughed lightly as she wrapped the Original Vampire in a tight hug of greeting.

"It's good to see you, Rhea." Alexa Branson said to her friend with a soft smile as she pulled away from the hug and discreetly looked over the girl in front of her to make sure that she was looking healthy. Rhea rolled her eyes as she caught her friend raking her hazel-green eyes over her figure and gave her a pointed look as Lexi gaze crept back up to her eyes. Even though Rheanna was an 800 years older than her, Lexi had always felt a little bit responsible for the pretty girl in front of her because she was technically 21 years old in human years while Rhea was only 17 when she was changed.

"I'm fine, étoile filante. How are you? Last I heard you were mentoring a baby vampire."

"Oh, yes. Stefan." Lexi confirmed with a nod of her head as a fond smile unintentionally crept across her lips and Rhea tilted her head to the side slightly in consideration.

"Does my brother have some competition?" Rhea asked her playfully as her oak brown eyes twinkled with mirth at her companion's expense and the blonde next to her rolled her hazel eyes in retaliation to her teasing.

"No." she protested firmly with a smile still on her lips as her gaze unconsciously slipped to the other side of the ballroom where Elijah stood dutifully next to Nikaus and Marcel. Rhea chuckled as she followed her friend's loving gaze over to her older brother and didn't notice that their group of two had been joined by another pretty blonde with cerulean blue eyes.

"What are you two gossiping about?" Rebekah asked the two of them politely as she glided up to the pair of girls and smirked as she followed their gaze over to the group of men by the wall on the other side of the room. Rhea turned her head in surprise to give her sister a warm smile in greeting before returning her attention to the younger vampire.

"Lexi was just telling me about her new recruit." Rhea explained to Rebekah with a small smile on her lips as Lexi reluctantly pulled her eyes off of Elijah and gave her a confused look at her words.

"What were we talking about?" she asked her friends incredulously as she gently shook her head to clear it for thoughts of her on-again-off-again love and the twin shared an amused laugh at her baffled expression.

"Stefan?" Rhea prompted her friends with a teasing smile as Rebekah giggled next to her and Lexi jumped slightly as she remembered what they were speaking about before she got side-tracked by thoughts of Elijah.

"Right! Rhea, he is definitely your type." She informed the Original Twins with a sly grin as the girl in question rolled her oak coloured eyes and Rebekah chuckled at her sister's expense. "Oh, come on, Rhea! He is really handsome. Tousled sandy brown hair. Light green eyes. Amazing cheek bones."

"If he's so great why don't you go with him?" Rebekah asked her sceptically as she pursed her pretty lips together in thought and Rheanna nodded enthusiastically in agreement because she hated when people tried to set her up with people.

"Because she already has someone." A deep male voice answered from behind the trio just as Lexi opened her mouth to respond and the three girls turned to see that Elijah had decided to join them. He skilfully slipped his arm possessively around Lexi's thin waist as he glared through narrowed oak coloured eyes at a man that has stared at her too long for his liking and then looked back at his younger sisters as Lexi relaxed in his arm.

"No need to get defensive, 'Lijah. It was just a question." Rhea told him with a small smirk at her older brother's clear show of maleness and the other two girls giggled at her words as he quirked his lips at her in a quick smile.

"Dance with me, darling?" he asked Lexi as he turned his head slightly to look at her beautiful oval shaped face and she smiled shyly at him as she nodded her head in acceptance. Rebekah and Rheanna both smiled as their friend walked towards the dance floor arm in arm with their brother before Rhea turned to her twin with a sad smile on her face when she noticed that the blonde attention had once again drifted over to where Marcel was standing.

"We'll get our happily ever after, Bekah."


	13. Bringing Out The Dead

3rd Person POV:

"You look surprised to see me. So it wasn't you that removed the dagger from my chest?" Elijah Mikaelson asked his younger brother Niklaus calmly as he wiped his hands clean of the blood that he gotten on his hands when he had ripped the hybrids heart from his chest only minutes before. Niklaus swallowed thickly as he looked at his older brother in the eye and tried to plaster an impassive expression on his face so that Elijah didn't see the fear he felt.

"You look like you could do with a drink. And we have a lot to discuss, so shall we?" he asked steadily as he gestured with his hand into the room next to them and tried to keep the slight tremble out of his voice. 

Elijah looked back his brother evenly for a silent moment before the rushed forward with his fist raised and punched Klaus in the jaw so hard that if he were human his head would have fallen off. The younger Mikaelson brother was taken by surprise by the attack and was sent flying through the glass door behind him but was able to catch himself so he landed in a crouch. 

"Easy. I just finished renovating. You know you have every right to be mad at me. But I kept my word, I reunited you with our family." Klaus spat out through clenched teeth as he slowly stood to his full height and Elijah's face twisted into a scowl as he rush towards his brother once more. 

The two vampires collided and tumbled into the next room full of coffins in a mess of limbs as they landed punch after punch on the other. Klaus detangled himself from Elijah long enough to open a coffin at random and pull the dagger from the chest of one of his siblings without looking which one it was. He spun around quickly with the dagger in hand to fend off Elijah's next attack and ended up with the older brother pressed up against the oak coffin with the dagger positioned directly over his heart. "Don`t make me do this to you again Elijah!"

"Come on. Use it. I dare you. You'll have Kol to deal with." Elijah reminded his brother softly as he tried to even out his breathing from the adrenaline rushing in his veins and Klaus snuck a quick over his shoulder to look at the handsome young man with light brown hair lying desiccated in the coffin he had recently opened. Dread filled him as he turned his attention back to Elijah and lowered the dagger from his chest in defeat.

"Mikael is dead."

"What did you say?" Elijah asked in a demand as he pushed Niklaus away from him and stood up straight in surprise at the new revelation.

"I killed him. With his own weapon. He's gone Elijah. Forever." Klaus told him with a slight note of happiness in his accented voice and Elijah felt a surge of glee at the thought of no longer running until he remembered his siblings that were still locked in boxes.

"Why do our family remain in these coffins? Finn for over 900 years, Kol for over a century." He stated heatedly as he gestured with his hand to the coffin he had just being pressed up against and Klaus followed his movement with a frown on his face.

"Because of Stefan Salvatore. He holds the one thing keeping me from freeing them. There are things that you do not know about our past, Elijah. Our mother's death. Things I never wanted you to know but I`m ready to tell you now. I only ask that you remember the oath of loyalty you once swore to me." Klaus told him as he slowly stepped backwards and moved to stand next to a small table near the edge of the room that held a small jar of greyish ash. Elijah watched curiously as he opened the jar and placed the dagger into the ash before taking it out again.

"What are you doing?" Elijah asked him in horror as Niklaus moved to stand next to Kol's coffin and then placed the dagger securely back into his younger brother's heart.

"Always and forever. I need you to stand by my side. Be my brother. Help me destroy Stefan and I promise you our family will be whole again." Klaus swore to him softly as he closed the lid of Kol's coffin and Elijah stared at his brother with a blank look on his face as he tried to decide whether or not he was being truthful.

"What the bloody hell happened in here?" a familiar female voice accented with a British tint echoed throughout the cavernous house and Elijah instantly jerked his head around to look at the door where the voice had come from. "I just finished decorating!"

"Always one for the melodramatics." Klaus murmured quietly to himself as Elijah silently made his way to the door that lead to the next room and then froze then he saw a familiar young woman standing over the dead hybrid with a scowl on her pretty face. She looked completely the same after 90 years except for her new modern clothing but she somehow she looked older to him in a way he couldn't describe.

"Rheanna…" he stated softly from where he stood in the doorway between rooms and her head instantly snapped up from the ground at the sound of his voice making her silky honey coloured hair fly wildly. Her oak brown eyes were wide with wonder as they met his matching pair and a small smile started forming on his lips as she came to the realisation that he wasn't a mirage.

"Elijah!" she practically screeched as she flew across the room at full speed and threw himself into his arms in a tight hug. He stumbled slightly under her weight in surprise but instantly wrapped his arms around her thin waist and closed his eyes as he reassured himself that she was safe in his arms after their years apart. Rhea let out a sob suddenly as she buried her head into the crook of his neck and he placed a gentle hand on the back of her head as he stroke her honey hair like he had been doing ever since they were human infants growing up. Elijah and Rheanna had always had a special kind of relationship that their other siblings could not even begin to understand and even Rebekah knew that her twin and eldest brother shared something that she couldn't grasp.

"Shh… I'm right here, little one." Elijah cooed softly into her ear as he opened his oak brown eyes and she nodded her head quickly as hot tears ran down her cheeks uncontrollably. 

Behind the uniting duo, Niklaus stood alone with a sad smile on his face as he watched in sorrow and thought to himself that he would never have the kind of relationship that warranted that sort of reunion.

>>>>

Rhea POV:

I was waiting impatiently in the dining room for the Salvatore brother's to arrive for a sit down with Niklaus that Elijah had organised with Damon. I knew that the true intention of the dinner was to distract Nik long enough that Damon could open the infamous locked coffin that the Salvatore's still had in their possession and for Elijah to undagger the rest of our siblings. 

Elijah and I had spent the day together in the town next to Mystic Falls away from the listening ears of Niklaus but it wasn't all laughing and giggles because I had the unfortunate task of informing him of Lexi's death. We had sat down together and cried for the loss of our friend but we were vampires so we were no strangers to the death of a loved one. We knew that the only thing to do was honour Lexi's memory by living an afterlife that she would be proud of and continuing to remember the times that we had spent together over the years since we met her. I still didn't know who had killed her but I had hired a friend of our family to hunt down the information because if there was one thing the Mikaelson family was known for it was family loyalty. At least to each other against outsiders.

"Rhea, Niklaus, our guests have arrived." I heard Elijah say from downstairs as I stood in front of the full length mirror in my closet and turned my head to the door before I looked back at my reflection to inspect my outfit. I tilted my head to the side as my gaze swept over the dark blue dress that hugged my curves lightly and fell down to the middle of my thigh. My honey coloured hair was straightened out from my usual waves and my makeup had been carefully painted on because I wanted a certain Salvatore brother's jaw to drop. I knew that it was stupid of me since he had practically stolen my entire family but for some unexplainable reason there was still a small part of me that wanted him to regret letting me go because underneath the 1000 year old vampire, I was still a teenage girl at heart.

"Damon. Stefan. Elijah tells me, you seek an audience. Very bold. Let's discuss the terms of our agreement like civilised men, shall we?" Nik asked the two younger vampires with a hint of glee in his voice as I descended the staircase with my high heels clicking on the tiled floor and Elijah looked up with a small quirk of his lip as I stepped off the stairs.

"It's better to indulge him." I told Damon and Stefan who stood near the door as I slipped my arm through my older brother's waiting elbow at the bottom of the stair's. The Salvatore's turned in unison at the sound of my voice from behind them and I would have laughed at the comical timing if I hadn't been immediately entrapped in Stefan's leaf green gaze. His eyes widened slightly as he took in my form fitting dress and long bare legs making me smile a little to myself as we stared into each other's eyes for a moment too long to be socially acceptable. I shook my head internally at myself for being distracted by his handsome face and looked over to see Damon smirking at the two of us knowingly. 

I took a breath I didn't need as Elijah gently led me into the dining room where a round table with five places had been set up for our dinner. I smiled at Nik when I saw him standing in the middle of the room behind one of the chairs and he gave me sympathetic smile in return so that I knew he had caught the moment between Stefan and me.

"I didn't come here to eat, Klaus. Fact, I didn't want to come here at all. But I was told, I had to because you would hear us out." Stefan said to Nik in a cocky voice as Elijah pulled out the chair next to Nik's and I sat down in it gracefully.

"Well, we can sit and eat or I can reach down your throats and pull out your insides. The choice is yours." Nik compromised with them with a menacing smile on his lips and I rolled my oak brown eyes at his threat as Elijah sat down next to me at the table while we waited for the Salvatore's to make a decision. Damon and Stefan shared a look before they slowly walked over to the table and sat down in the two remaining seats at the table. 

Moments later, two blonde human compelled women came out of the kitchen with two sliver trays in their hands and carefully placed a plate filled with chicken parmigiana in front of each of us.

"Thank you, love." Damon said to one of the woman with a mocking smirk on his face as she placed the plate in front of him on the table and I smiled slightly as I picked up my fork.

"You lost your appetite." Nik commented about Stefan as everyone but the youngest Salvatore began eating their dinner.

"Eat. I thought we agreed that we would leave the grumpy Stefan at home." Damon reminded his brother with a pointed smile in his direction and Stefan rolled his light green eyes before pointedly eating a forkful of food.

"That's the spirit. Isn't it nice? Five of us dining together? Such a treat. Is this what you had in mind when you pulled the dagger from my brother?"

"Well, I know how he felt about you, so I figured the more, the merrier." Damon said cheerily as he sipped his red wine with a smirk on his handsome face that I was certain never fully left.

"Well, Elijah and I have had our share of quarrels over the century. But we always make it through." Nik told Stefan and Damon as he shared a look with Elijah before continuing to eat the food in front of him.

"Kind of like you and Rebekah, right? Where is she, by the way? Last I checked she was still daggered because you were afraid to face her." Stefan said with a sarcastic smile at Nik and my hand tightened around my metal fork at the mention of my twin sister. Elijah glanced in my direction to see that my hand was turning white under the pressure and my fork was now bent slightly so he placed a calmly hand on my arm.

"If you're referring to the fact that Rebekah knows I killed our mother, I've already come clean to Elijah. And, of course, Rhea already knows thanks to you lot." Nik reassured them with a smug smile on his lips as his light blue eyes flashed dangerously at the mention of Rebekah as well.

"Hey, Stef, remember when you killed dad? Might want to dial down the judgment until dessert." Damon scolded his brother with a forced smile on his lips and I quirked a perfectly sculpted eyebrow at the scene in front of me as I sipped my wine in an effort to calm down.

"We're here to make a deal, Damon. Doesn't mean we need to kiss his ass for seven courses." Stefan pointed out calmly as I chuckled softly at the comment and his light green eyes looked up to meet my oak brown for a moment.

"I'm just saying we have a long evening ahead of us. Pace yourself."

"Stefan. Where is the lovely Elena tonight?" Elijah asked casually in an effort to change the subject and I instantly looked away from Stefan's gaze at the reminder of his girlfriend as jealousy swirled in my stomach.

"I don't know. Ask Damon." Stefan spat out in a forcibly calm voice as he too looked away and stare pointedly at his brother for an answer. Nik let out a loud laugh at the comment as we all turned to look at him in surprise at his outburst and Elijah raised an eyebrow in question.

"I'm sorry, you've missed so much. Uh- trouble in paradise." Nik explained to Elijah as he tried to control the chuckles that still threatened to escape and I scowled at him in frustration.

"One more word about Elena and this dinner's over." Stefan stated sternly as he looked over at Nik and my brother continued to laugh silently while he raised a single finger to his lips.

"You know what, probably best just to keep Elena in the do not discuss pile." Damon told us with a tight fake smile as he lifted his wine glass to his lips and I nodded in agreement as I finished my wine in one gulp.

"You're probably right." Nik agreed as he nodded jerkily though his laughter and I sighed in relief that we wouldn't have to discuss Stefan and Elena because that topic would surely make me want to stab someone with the knife in my hand. "It's just the allure of the Petrova doppelgänger, still so strong. What do you say, brother? Should we tell them about Tatia?"

"Now why should we discuss matters long since resolved?" I asked pointedly as I glared at Nik through narrowed oak brown eyes but he ignored me as he looked over at Elijah.

"Rhea is right. Why discuss something long passed?" Elijah agreed with me in a calm but stern voice as placed a napkin on the table in front of him and I nodded along with his words.

"Well, given their shared affection for both Elena and Katerina, I think our guests might be curious to learn about the originator of the Petrova line." Nik stated in an amused tone of voice as he smirked slightly at me and I rolled my eyes at his childish behaviour.

"Well, we're not going anywhere Elijah. Please, do tell." Damon said with a smirk as he sipped his wine and Stefan folded his hands together on top of the table as he leaned forward to give my brother's his full attention. Elijah cleared his throat slightly as he shifted in his seat because of the uncomfortable subject and I grasped his hand on top of the table as he gave me a small grateful smile.

"When our family first settled here, there was a girl named Tatia, she was an exquisite beauty. Every boy of age desired to be her suitor, even though she'd had a child by another man. And none loved her more than Niklaus." Elijah started the story as we all listened intently to his melodic voice and I squeezed his hand slightly in comfort because I knew that he hated talking about his past love.

"I'd say there was one who loved her at least as much." Nik interrupted him with a smile in our brother's direction and I turned my head to smile at him in amusement.

"Wait a minute, so you both loved the same girl?" Stefan asked them in amusement as he pointed a fork in between my two brothers with a half smirk on his handsome face.

"Everyone else in our family hated Tatia. Rebekah and I used to ignore her just out of spite." I told the Salvatore's with a smirk as Elijah squeezed my hand on top of the table and Nik chuckled lightly at my comment as he shook his head in amusement.

"Our mother was a very powerful witch. She sought to end our feud over Tatia and so she took her. Klaus and I would later learn that it was Tatia's blood that we consumed in the wine on the night where our mother performed the spell which turned us into vampires. Tatia wouldn't make a decision between the two of us, so for a time Niklaus and I... grew estranged. Harsh words were traded, we even came to blows, didn't we, brother?" Elijah continued with the story before looking over at Niklaus for confirmation and I shook my head slightly at the two of them.

"But in the end we realized the sacred bond of family." Nik concluded with a soft smile on his lips and I smiled back at him gently.

"Family above all." Elijah vowed in a hushed voice as he raised his wine glass in Nik's direction and I smiled as I also picked up my glass at the same time Nik did.

"Family above all." Nik and I echoed in unison as we all clinked our glassed together in cheers while the Salvatore's shared a look from across the table. We were interrupted from our silent family moment by the sound of my phone ringing from the table besides the front door and all of our heads instantly snapped up at the noise.

"Excuse me." I stated quietly as I stood up from the table gracefully and walked over to grab my cell phone from the table in the next room. "Hello?"

"Hi, Rhea?" a familiar male voice said nervously through the phone line and frowned in confusion as I waked further away from the listening men in the dining room.

"Matt? Is everything alright?" I asked warily as I strolled into the living room because the last time Matt had called me Caroline was dying from a werewolf bite.

"Caroline's dad was killed with vampire blood in his system. He isn't going to complete the transition."

"I'll be right over. Thank you for calling me, Matt." I told him gratefully as I sunk down onto the couch behind me and I heard him sigh slightly on the other side of the line.

"You've been a good friend to her."

"Thank you, Matt." I said to him honestly before I hung up the phone with a sigh and I closed my eyes for a second as I thought about the unfairness that Caroline had been dealt recently.

>>>>

I reached Caroline's house in a matter of minutes after I left my family's mansion and I quickly walked up the stairs to the front porch still in my dinner outfit. I sighed heavily once before I knocked on the wooden door and then took a step backwards as I waited patiently for someone to answer the door. I turned around on my heel to look out at the perfect green lawn that mirror the concept of the American dream and crossed my arms over my chest as I waited. I heard the door open behind me so I slowly turned around to come face to face with Elena standing in the doorway with a scowl on her pretty face.

"What are you doing here?" she asked me harshly as she stepped outside and gently closed the front door behind her so that it didn't slam.

"I heard about Caroline's father." I explained to her as I uncrossed my arms and took a step towards the front door in an attempt to knock again but Elena stepped in front of me before I could reach it.

"Hey, hey, hey. You aren't going in there."

"Obviously. I haven't been invited in." I reminded her in a joking tone as I quirked an eyebrow at her and her face twisted into a frown with her eyebrows creased. "I was going to knock again."

"Caroline doesn't want you here." Elena told me in a callous whisper as she stepped towards me slightly and my eyebrows shot up in surprise at her bitter tone of voice.

"Elena, are you okay?" I asked her in concern because I had a feeling that she wasn't usually this bitter towards anyone no matter who they were and she blinked at me in surprise at my words as a confused frown covered her pretty face. The doppelgänger stared at me incomprehensibly for a second while I tilted my head to the side and waited for her to decide what she wanted to say. I knew that there had to be a reason that Stefan loved the human girl in front of me, a reason why Caroline was such good friends with her and a reason she had been gifted with Elijah's respect.

"Why do you care?" she asked me in a defeated voice as her shoulders slumped slightly and I gave her a sympathetic smile as I stepped forward.

"Stefan loves you, Caroline loves you, Elijah respects you and apparently, even Lexi liked you." I explained to her with a delicate shrug of my shoulders and she looked at me with large brown eyes that radiated warm even in a world surrounded by supernatural creatures. Her face turned blank as she looked at me intently for a moment before she sighed heavily and shook her head with her eyes downcast.

"You can knock." Elena murmured quietly as she moved passed me down the steps and I watched curiously as she walked to her car without a backwards glance. I pursed my lips together in thought as she reversed her car out of the driveway and then turned back around to face the front door to Caroline's house. I strolled up to the door to knock firmly on the door before I stepped back to wait for someone else to answer the door for me and then smiled slightly as the door opened to reveal a woman in her early forty's with short blonde hair and tears in her blue eyes.

"Can I help you?" she asked me politely in a quiet voice that cracked slightly as she spoke and I smiled at her sympathetically as I stepped forwards.

"Hi, are you Elizabeth Forbes? Caroline's mother?" I asked her kindly as I extended my arm out for her to shake her hand and she frowned a little as she placed her hand in mine.

"Yes." She confirmed hesitantly as she shook my hand firmly and I smiled at her gently as I drew my hand back to my side.

"I'm Rhea Mikaelson. I'm a friend of Caroline's." I informed her politely as she looked at me a little dubiously and her blue eyes widened when she heard my last name. "Matt called and told me around your ex-husband. I'm very sorry for the position that this has put you in."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. I won't even insult you by asking you to invite me into your home but could you tell Caroline that I'm here to see her?" I asked her courteously as I titled my head to the side in question and she blinked in confusion at my polite attitude before nodding her head in agreement. She walked back into the house to get her daughter and I moved to stand next to the pillar near the steps to the porch.

I heard the sound of feet shuffling just inside the house so I turned around to see a dishevelled looked Caroline approaching the front door and a sympathetic smile formed on my lips as I spun around fully to face her. The mascara around her watery blue eyes was smudged because of her crying and her curly blonde hair was hanging loosely around her shoulder carelessly. I held my arms out expectantly making her bottom lips quiver a little as she quickly ran out of the house and into my waiting arms as they snaked around her so that I was petting her wavy blonde hair comfortingly while she sobbed into my shoulder. A flash of déjà vu from this morning when Elijah was holding me in the same manner crossed my mind as sobs racked Caroline body and I held her tightly while cooing nonsense comforting words into her ear. "Shh… it's okay, petite luciole."

>>>>

I stayed with Caroline just holding her while she cried until her mother came out and informed her that her father was ready. I tried offering to stay with her just in case either of them needed me but the young vampire sternly said that she would be fine and that she would see me tomorrow.

After I had finally allowed myself to be removed from her porch, I ran home just in time to see Elijah and Damon heading to the basement where Nik had been keeping the coffins of our siblings locked up so I followed them to help waking up Rebekah, Kol and Finn. When Elijah had opened the basement door, I had practically flown over to the coffin that I knew held Rebekah's desiccated body and I heard my older brother chuckled at me as he moved to stand in front of Kol's coffin.

"With one comes the other, Nik." I murmured to myself with a smirk on my lips as I slowly opened the lid to my twin sister's coffin and then frowned at her grey skin as I ran a finger gently across one of her cheeks. I looked up from Rebekah to see Elijah opening Kol's coffin across from me and Damon opening the coffin that held my other brother Finn. I smiled a little as I looked back down at Rebekah and wrapped my hands around the stake that was sticking in her heart before I removed it effortlessly from her chest.

"Rhea…" Elijah called to get my attention from across the room and I looked up instantly to see him holding out a plastic hospital blood bag filled with red liquid for me to take from him. I gave him a grateful smile as I walked over to take the bag from his hand before I strolled back over to the side of Rebekah's coffin. I ripped open the plastic with my teeth before I held the bag closer to Rebekah's nose and hoped that the sweet scent of blood inside could revive her from her dead state.

"Hmm…" she murmured sleepily as her eyelids twitched almost imperceptible to a human's eye but I wasn't human so I smiled slightly at the sight and then held the blood bag on an angle so that the blood dripped into her mouth. Her cerulean blue eyes sprung open instantly when the delicious scarlet liquid passed her pale lips and I noticed that the blood with the same colour as the homecoming dress that she was still wearing since that night she died at Elena's hand. Rebekah glanced at me momentarily as she grabbed the bag from my hand and drank the contents greedily as I smiled at her gleefully. I heard the sound of shuffling coming from the other side of the room so I looked up to see Elijah standing next to a younger version of himself and I immediately smiled widely at the person as they turned to see me there.

"Kol!" I cried happily as I sprinted across the room with a laugh and he caught me in his arms as I launched myself at him. He laughed loudly as his arms wrapped around my waist and he spun me around in a circle while I giggled happily since I hadn't seen him in over a century when we were in New Orleans. He placed me down on the ground with a huge grin on his handsome face and I smiled as he looked down at me from his slightly superior height before he pressed a chaste kiss to my forehead. I chuckled softly at the familiar action as he looked over my shoulder with a genuine smile that was rare to see on his lips and I followed his oak brown gaze to see Rebekah now hugging Elijah in greeting. I stepped back from Kol so that he could go and greet my twin sister while I turned back to face my eldest brother with smile on my lips.

"Rheanna…" Finn said fondly as he moved to stand in front of me with small smile on his lips and I grinned as I wrapped my arms around him in a hug even though he and I weren't the closest out of our siblings. He returned the hug by wrapping his arms around my waist but we soon pulled away to face Elijah since he was the one who arranged to have everyone undaggered.

I listened intently as Elijah explained the recent events quickly to Kol and Finn since they had missed Nik breaking his hybrid curse and killing Mikael while I subtly moved to stand next to Rebekah. She smiled at me warmly as she noticed that I was standing next to her and I returned to as I wrapped an arm around her waist. I looked over to the side of the room where Damon was standing watching our family reunion awkwardly before glancing back over at Elijah as he finished talking.

"… so after we have the locked coffin in our possession, we can leave him behind without fear." Elijah concluded in his calm melodic voice as he folded his hands in front of him while we all listened to him and I smiled softly at the thought of being able to live my life without fear of Niklaus' temper.

"Let's go then!" Kol exclaimed eagerly with a malicious smirk on his lips as he clapped his hands in front of him and Rebekah chuckled at him while I grinned in amusement. Elijah and Damon lead the four of us upstairs to the main house before Elijah motioned for us to stay hidden for a moment and then he stepped out into the open doorway so Nik could clearly see him.

"Elijah... why haven't you left?" I heard Nik ask him in confusion as Elijah and the elder Salvatore appeared with a blonde human waitress holding a silver tray in her hands.

"Where are you manners, brother? We forgot dessert." Elijah stated coolly as he reached over to take the red velvet cover off of the plate the woman was carrying to reveal two silver daggers lying on the plate and I frowned in confusion because there was meant to be three daggers. Rebekah must have noticed my frown because she nudged my arm and when I turned to look at her she held up the missing dagger with grin on her lips.

"What have you done?" Nik asked in a frightened voice as I grinned back at Rebekah and shook my head at her in amusement before turning my attention back to the scene in the dining room.

"What have you done? You see I've learned not to trust your vulgar promises, Klaus. We're doing this on my terms now." Elijah told him with undeniable authority in his voice as Kol sauntered into the dining room behind him with a cocky smirk on his lips.

"Kol." Nik said softly in shock as Kol approached him slowly as though he was a predator circling his prey and Rebekah ran around to the other side of the dining room so that she was hidden behind Nik.

"Long time, brother." Kol said in a mocking tone and Nik began backing away from him because he knew exactly what our youngest brother was capable of but he was stopped in his tracks when Finn suddenly appeared in front of him. I moved briskly to stand next to Elijah with my arms crossed over my chest as I watched my siblings get revenge on our brother for keeping them locked up for years. Finn quickly grabbed a dagger off of the plate and stabbed it straight through Nik's hand with a crazed look in his normally calm brown eyes.

"Finn, don't!" Nik cried out in pain as the dagger was ripped from his skin and turned to run out of the room through the other door but Rebekah blocked the exit with a blank look on her pretty face. Her lips turned up in a spiteful smirk as she stabbed the dagger into his stomach and he crumbled over in pain with a grimace on his handsome face.

"This is for our mother." Rebekah informed him as she ripped the dagger back out of his stomach with a smirk in my direction that I mirrored and Nik fell backwards into Kol's arm so that he could restrain him from moving.

"You're free to go." Elijah said calmly from next to me and I turned to see the Salvatore's watching my family's squabbling with shocked expressions. "This is family business."

"Thank you for a lovely dinner." I said to them sarcastically with a false polite smile as I lead the two of them to the front door and they followed slowly as though they were unsure of what to do. I opened the front door for them to exit but ignored the inquiring looks they gave me as they walked out and I quickly walked back into the dining room where my siblings had formed a loose circle around Nik.

"I like what you've done with the new place, Nik." Rebekah commented as she picked up a vase I had brought and threw it at a painting that was hanging over the mantle.

"Rebekah! That was expensive!" I scolded her with my hands on my hips as walked over to stand next to her and she gave me a sheepish look before turning her attention back to Nik.

"I wanted it to be for all of us. A place we could all call home. A place we could all be a family. None of us would ever have to be alone again." Nik explained sadly with his hand downcast and I felt a surge of pity for my brother as I looked at his dejected face.

"Well you're right, none of us will be." Elijah told him from where he stood in front of Nik in the middle of the room and we all nodded in agreement as we moved to stand in a line in front of our brother.

"You're staying behind." Finn stated calmly as he took his place next to Elijah and I smirked a little as I stood on Elijah's other side with Rebekah next to me.

"We're leaving you, Nik. Right after I kill that doppelgänger wench, then you will be alone. Always and forever." My twin said mockingly as we linked our arms together in a silent show of solidity and Nik lifted his head from the carpet to glare at all of us heatedly through narrowed light blue eyes.

"If you run, I will hunt all of you down." He threatened us venomously as he stood up from the seat he was sitting on and I could see the pain in the depths of his light blue eyes even as he threatened our lives.

"Then you'll become everything you hate. Our father." Elijah reminded him plainly as he casually straightened his suits jacket and I quirked a challenging eyebrow at Nik from besides him.

"I'm the hybrid! I can't be killed! I have nothing to fear from any of you."

"You will when we have that coffin." I told him calmly as I drew strength from Rebekah's presence next to me and Nik's turned his glare on me just as I heard the sound of the door opening behind us. We all shared suspicious frowns as we turned to stare at the doorway where the intrude would have to pass to get inside the house and my oak brown eyes widened as a familiar figure appeared in the middle of the doorway. There stood a dirty blonde haired woman in her mid-forty's with brown the same shade as mine, Elijah's and Kol's wearing a cotton dress from the middle ages.

"Mother?" Rebekah and I asked in unison in quieted shocked voice as Esther Mikaelson glanced around at all of her children in the room before her gaze landed on Niklaus and she began slowly making her way to him. We all watched her warily as she approached Nik and he looked down at the ground in shame with tears in his light blue eyes as though he could bear to look at the mother he had murdered.

"Look at me!" mother commanded in a stern voice and I gasped a little in surprise at the sound of her voice after 1000 years as Nik looked up at her with tears in his eyes and his lower lip trembling slightly. "Do you know why I'm here?"

"You're here to kill me." he said in a defeated tone as he reluctantly looker her in the eye for the first time since she had returned and she sighed a little as she looked at all over us with a determines expression on her pretty face.

"Niklaus, you are my son and I am here to forgive you. I want us to be a family again."


	14. Dangerous Liaisons

Always Getting Over You:  
Dangerous Liaisons:

I blinked my eyes against the harsh rays of sunlight that was streaming in through the bedroom window before closing them again tightly and groaning tiredly as I rolled over so that my face wasn’t in the direct sunlight. I instantly collided with another hard body that made me open my oak brown eyes in surprise with a confused frown on my lips and then I leant up on my elbow to look at the flood of blonde hair on the pillow next to me. I smiled sleepily as I vividly remembered the events of the night before and I snuggled deeper into the warm cocoon that Rebekah and I had created. After we had all been united last night, my twin and I didn’t want to be separated any more than we had been so we decided to have a sleepover in my bedroom.   
"Rebekah…" I whispered softly as I leaned in closer to her ear and she made a groaning sound in the back of her throat as she buried her face in her pillow. I laughed silently at her as gently moved a stray piece of blonde hair out of her face and she murmured quietly in her sleep as she rolled over onto her back with her cerulean eyes still closed. I gently nudged my twin sister in the side to try and get her to wake up but she just ignored me as she turned her head to the side to face away from me. A firm knock sounded on the other side of my bedroom door making Rebekah jerk awake in surprise as I laughed at her and rolled on to my back while she looked around in confusion.   
“Rhea, Rebekah?” Elijah called out from the other side of the door in concern because all he could hear was the sound of my laughter. Rebekah glared over at me through narrowed cerulean blue eyes as I continued to giggle at her dishevelled appearance and Elijah hesitantly opened the door slowly to peek around the edge.   
“Come in, ‘Lijah!” I answered him through my stifled giggles as Rebekah tried to tame her wild blonde hair by running her hand through it and our brother stepped fully into my room in his usual suit. A small smile played at the edge of his lips as his oak brown gaze swept over the scene in front of him and I grinned back happily as I sat up so that I was leaned against the headrest with my hands folded in my lap.   
“What is it you want, Elijah?” Rebekah asked him irritably as she closed her eyes and laid her head back on the soft pillow underneath her head while I rolled my eyes at her.   
“I just came to let you know that mother is having a ball this evening.” Elijah informed us with a small smirk on his lips at her attitude and Rebekah instantly sat back up with her eyes wide in shock as she looked at him in horror.   
“Tonight!? How am I supposed to find a dress by tonight?” she asked in a shriek as she started kicking the blankets off of her legs so that she could escape the warm bubble we had created and I scowled as I pulled the purple blanket tighter around me so it didn’t slip.   
“Calm down, Bekah!” I ordered sternly as I grabbed a handful of blanket while she turned her head around to glare at me for telling her what to do and I stuck my tongue out at her in retaliation.   
“Don’t tell me to calm down, Rhea!”   
“Girls!” Elijah said in a slightly raised voice to get our attention before we could start bickering because once we got started we could go on for hours and we both turned away from each other to look at him near the door with his hands in his front pockets. “Rebekah, I’m sure you can find a suitable dress by tonight. Rheanna, don’t tell Rebekah what to do. That’s my job.”   
“Elijah!” Rebekah and I exclaimed loudly in unison in the same appalled tone as he smirked at the two of us before strolling out of the bedroom without a backwards glance and I grimaced at the thought of having to go shopping for a dress with Rebekah because I knew that she was going to be in a panic now that we had a time limit.   
“Are you going to ask Stefan to the ball then?” Rebekah asked me slyly as she sat up next to me so her back was against the headboard and I turned my head to the side to give her a pointed look in response. “I’m just asking!”   
“Stefan is in love with Elena. Besides, he stole my entire family.” I reminded her in a sharp voice that might have cut through metal if I tried and she pursed her lips together in thought as she looked up at the ceiling for a moment before glancing back at me.   
“But he does look good in a suit.” She joked with a smirk on her pretty lips as she quirked a perfect eyebrow and I laughed lightly as I nodded in agreement with her assessment because the youngest Salvatore did look handsome in a suit.   
“Who are going to ask?” I asked her cheekily as I turned my body to the side slightly to look at her better and she glanced down at her hands nervously as she twisted them just for something to do so that she wasn’t looking me in the eye.   
“Nobody.”   
“Bekah!” I exclaimed unbelievingly as I squinted my eyes at her and she sighed audibly before she twisted around to at me sheepishly in the eye with a slight smile.   
“You know that doppelgänger’s friend? Matt?” she asked me softly as her cerulean eyes lit up slightly at the mention of the human boy and I tilted my head to the side as I smiled a little back at her.   
“He’s friends with Caroline. He would look good in a suit.” I replied to her question as she bit her lower lip and looked away from me as she gave a nervous laugh at my teasing.   
>>>>

Elena POV:  
“It was their mother Esther who was sealed in that coffin.” I informed Stefan and Damon as we all stood in the middle of my dining room after my talk with Elijah.   
“As in the Original Witch? How is she even alive? Thought her hybrid freak show of a son ripped her heart out a thousand years ago.” Damon pointed out incredulously as I looked over at him with an unsure expression.   
“I don't know. I'm guessing she has a couple connections in the witching community. Elijah said that she wants to live in peace with her family, including Klaus.”   
“Rhea learned everything about witchcraft from her. She was supposed to be the weapon to help us kill Klaus.” Stefan said in a frustrated voice as he paced up and down the room while I leaned on the back of a chair near the table and ignored the swell of jealous when he mentioned the honey haired original twin. After speaking with Rheanna the night before at Caroline’s it was even harder than before to hate her. She had no reason to care about me but she still asked if I was okay.   
“Well, not anymore... at least not according to Elijah.” I told the brothers in a defeated voice and they all stood in silence for a moment as thought about the ramifications of their actions.   
“That coffin was the only thing stopping Klaus from tearing us to shreds.”   
“Anyone else feeling a little used right now?” Damon asked rhetorically in a snarky tone as he raised his hand in the air and I rolled my eyes subtly at his childish behaviour.   
“Look, Elijah promised me that his family wouldn't hurt any of us.” I stated loudly in a voice that left no room for argument even though I was less than certain but thankfully, before anyone could say anything more the doorbell rang so I spun on my heel and headed for the door. “I believe him.”   
“What is it?” Damon called out to me as I opened the door to find no there but a white envelope on the step so I picked it up with a confused frown. I ripped open the envelope and pulled out the card inside while I strolled back over to the Salvatore’s.   
“It's an invitation. "Please join the Mikaelson Family, this evening at seven o'clock. For dancing, cocktails and celebration."”   
“Who the hell are the Mikaelson’s?” Damon asked with a frown that creased his eyebrows and Stefan stopped pacing to stare at the card in my hand with an unreadable look.   
“The Original Family. It’s how Rhea introduced herself back in the 20’s.” Stefan explained to our confused expressions and I frowned at him as I flipped the card over in my hand.   
“It's not bad enough they're moving into town, now they want a housewarming gift?” the elder Salvatore asked sarcastically as he rolled his electric blue eyes and moved to stand up against the wall with his arms over his chest.   
“Wait, there's a note on the back. "Elena, I think it's time that we finally meet, Esther."” I recited the handwritten note on the back of the card and then looked up to see the brother exchanging a look between themselves.   
>>>>

Rhea POV:  
Rebekah and I sat next to each other on one of the burgundy couches in the living room as two compelled professional women who worked in a nail salon gave us manicures in preparation for the ball that mother was throwing that evening to welcome the Mikaelson family to Mystic Falls. After shopping for hours earlier that morning, Rebekah and I had both found appropriate gowns to wear to the party and had already decided on how to do our hair so now all we need to do was finish our nails. A gentle indie song that was playing in the background through the speakers that were connected to my iPod as Kol and Finn got their tuxedos fitted for the ball in the full length mirrors that had been brought down for exactly that purpose.   
“Rebekah? Tell me how handsome I am.” Kol ordered the blonde playfully as he admired himself in the mirror with a cocky smirk and then looked at the two of us in the reflection.   
“Ah Kol, you know I can`t be compelled.” Rebekah responded calmly from her spot next to me without looking up from her nails and I chuckled lightly at their familiar banter while Finn grinned in amusement.   
“Urgh. Rhea?” Kol asked me as he turned his smirk in my direction and I raised an eyebrow at him as pretended to examine him with my head cocked to the side.   
“It doesn’t make me want to poke my eyes out with a burning hot fire poker.” I relented with smirk of my own as he mock-scowled at me while Finn and Rebekah chuckled at us and I smiled at the sound of my sibling’s laughter because it had been nearly 1000 years since we had all been together in the same house. The front door slammed open so I looked in that direction expectantly just as Niklaus came stomping into the room with an anger scowl on his handsome face and I frowned in confusion as to what had made him so irate today.   
“You went after Elena? What is wrong with you?!” Nik shouted as he entered the room and headed straight towards where Rebekah and I were sitting so I quirked an eyebrow at the accusation.   
“I did no such thing.” I denied honestly as I turned my attention to inspect my freshly manicured fingernails and Kol sat down on the edge of the couch to watch the oncoming fight in fascination.   
“Here we go.” Bekah muttered quietly in exasperation as she rolled her pretty blue eyes and I sent her a warning look before I turned my attention to the fuming hybrid standing in front of us.   
“Not you, Rhea. Rebekah.” He corrected me as he glared at my twin sister heatedly through narrowed light blue eyes and my eyebrows rose in surprise as I glanced at Rebekah in question so she shrugged her shoulders as she studied her fingernails next to me. I knew that Rebekah was feeling hurt by Elena’s betrayal because she actually liked the doppelgänger a little before she had literally stabbed her in the back at homecoming so it didn’t really surprise me that Rebekah had gone after her for revenge.  
“Do you want another dagger in your heart?” Nik asked her rhetorically in an angry tone and we both turned our heads to glare at him at the threat because Rebekah and I had always been very protective of one another.   
“Again with the dagger threats? Don`t you have any other tricks?” Kol asked mockingly as he jumped up from the arm of the couch and I spared him a slightly concerned glance because the last time Kol and Nik got into a fight it ended with the former in a coffin for a century.   
“Oh, go back to staring at yourself.”   
“And who are you, my father?” my youngest brother asked the hybrid as he took a threatening step closer to him and glared heatedly through oak brown eyes that were similar to mine.   
“No, Kol, but you`re in my house.” Nik replied to him through gritted teeth as he turned his attention to Kol while Rebekah gave a silent relieved sigh and I gripped hand in mine now that my nails were dry.   
“Then perhaps we should go outside.” Kol said tauntingly as he stepped even closer to our brother and I shook my head at the two them in exasperation until the sound of heels clinking on the tiled floor could be heard heading towards us. We all turned out heads to see mother standing in the doorway separating the parlour and the living room with her arms crossed over her chest.   
“Enough! Niklaus...come.” she ordered sternly before she turned back around so she could walk away down to the study that she had claimed as hers since she arrived last night and Nik sent Kol and Rebekah one last glare before following our mother silently down the hallway.   
“Niklaus is in trouble….” I whispered in a singsong voice that received an amused chuckle from both Rebekah and Kol as well a grin from Finn who stood in front the mirror still while he watched the scene play out in front of him and I watched as Rebekah stood up from her position on the couch elegantly.  
“Rhea, fancy going to lunch at the grill?” she asked me as she smiled slightly down at me and I smiled back at her as I stood up gracefully so that I was standing next to her. I waved goodbye to Kol and Finn as I linked my other arm through Rebekah’s and we both used our superior vampire speed to run to the Mystic Grill in the centre of town. Running had always been my favourite way to travel because the wind in my hair always reminded me of back when I was human and my witch powers were still active so that I could make small tornadoes in the abandon forest surrounding our village. Rebekah and I walked into the Grill with our arms linked together as we made a straight line for the bar in the middle of the room and I was about to sit down on one of the stools when Rebekah nudged me in the side with her elbow to get my attention so I sent her a scowl before following her gaze to where Elena and Caroline were sitting in one of the booths near the wall. I frowned in sympathy when I saw the familiar blonde sitting with her friend because I had been worried about her since her father died the night before but I had been too busy with my own family to check in on her. Rebekah grabbed my elbows tightly as she began dragging me in their direction so I grimaced at her.  
“Let go.” I hissed at her as I pulled my arm out of her grasp and walked on my own towards the duo.  
“Careful Caroline. It's all well and good until she stabs you in the back.” My twin sister quipped as we came to a stop besides their table and Elena and Caroline both looked up at us in surprise. I smiled slightly at the pair as I rested my hand on the back of Caroline’s chair while the doppelgänger and my sister glared at each at other heatedly.   
“What are you doing here? I know your mom's rules. No hurting the locals.” Elena spat at her venomously and I quirked an eyebrow in surprise that she knew that mother was back from the dead but then realised that Elijah must have stopped Rebekah from killing Elena. I noticed Elena send a worried look of anxiety at Caroline and I realised that she was concerned that she would be hurt or killed by our family so I smiled slightly.  
“Caroline is under our family’s protection, Elena.” I reassured her as I rested a hand gently on Caroline’s bouncy blonde hair and they both turned to look at me in surprise while Rebekah rolled her cerulean blue eyes at me as she looked away.   
“I am?” Caroline asked in shock as I smiled down at her fondly and nodded my head in acknowledgement to her question while Elena gave me a suspicious look.   
“Why?” Elena asked me doubtfully as she narrowed her deep brown eyes at me and Rebekah turned her head back at the tone in the doppelgänger’s voice.   
“Get over yourself Elena. It's not all about you.” Rebekah hissed at her dangerous as she took a step forward and I put my other hand gently on her arm to stop her from attacking Elena because we were surrounded by human and Elijah, Niklaus and mother would be disappointed in her.   
“Rebekah.” I said softly in a warning tone as I gently squeezed her arm and she looked at me while I smiled softly at her before nodding my head in the direction of the bar. She followed my gesture to where Matt was standing in his work uniform while clearing dirty plates from a table and she sighed in defeat before sending the two girls in front of me one more scathing look. Elena and Caroline followed her movements as she flounced away to where Matt was standing and I smirked slightly as I watched Rebekah hand him a white envelope with a invitation in it.   
“Oh my god. She's inviting him to the ball. Why is she inviting him?” Elena asked me and Caroline in a disbelieving voice while I rolled my oak brown eyes at her and moving my hand to rest back down on the back of Caroline’s chair.   
“Probably to get this reaction from us. What time is this stupid dance?” Caroline asked me with a slight scoff as I looked down at her with a smirk on my lips and she rolled her eyes at me with a small smile while Elena glared at the two of us.   
>>>>

I walked into the ballroom in the one shouldered floor length turquoise evening gown with ruching draping and handsome stitched beading with chiffon skirt and felt the burning gaze of unknown people as they studied the mysterious honey haired woman that had just entered the room. I plastered a fake small smile on my face as I looked around at all the town members that had turned up to meet the newest members of the community and subconsciously I bit my lower lip nervously, forgetting about ruining my lipstick as I looked around the crowded room. My long honey coloured hair was curly lightly and pulled into a messy bun on the side so that my bare shoulders were visible and my makeup done been done by a compelled professional Rebekah had found. The men of Mystic Falls were all wearing expensive tuxedos while the women had gone all out for the night by wearing ball gowns and evening dresses so elaborate that it would make royalty blush. Waiters all wearing the same uniform walked around the ballroom carrying trays of champagne as the soft music played in the background. I gratefully plucked a flute of champagne from a passing waiter with a sigh of relief and let my gaze sweep across the crowd of humans that were in attendance with a polite smile on my face. My fake smile instantly dropped as I caught sight of a familiar handsome face standing out from the groups of bland individuals and my breath caught in my throat as I observed him subtly in his black tuxedo. I stared at him as his light green eyes swept around the ballroom for someone in the crowd until they landed on my oak brown ones and I froze where I was with my eyes wide in awe at his delectable appearance. I swallowed thickly as I noticed his eyes slightly widen as he took in my formal dress and a rush of heat swiftly encompassed my cheeks in a redden blush at the enthralled spark in his leaf coloured eyes. My throat was dry as I carefully sipped my champagne without looking away from the vampire across the room and then licked my bottom lip gently as I moved the glass from my mouth.   
“Oh! Sorry!” an unfamiliar female voice said to me in an apologetic tone as they bumped into me from behind and my gaze was released from its entrapment as I was jerked forward slightly. The lady who knocked into me hurried away with her date without another word and I shook my head slightly as I realised that I had been staring across the room at the man who had stolen my entire family. I internally scolded myself for falling under his spell again as I hurried away from the ballroom for a moment of peace and quiet in one of the empty offices. I used the free hand that wasn’t holding my drink to lift the bottom of my dress so that I didn’t trip over it as I strolled briskly down the abandoned hallway that lead to Elijah’s study.   
“Rhea!” I heard a familiar masculine voice call out to me from behind but I didn’t turn around to face and instead picked up the pace with a frown on my face. I reached Elijah’s office and pushed up the heavy wooden door just as a hand wrapped around my wrist but I just walked into the room with Stefan right behind me.   
“What do you want Stefan?” I asked him tiredly as I shut the door behind us and turned around with my arms crossed over my chest so that I was facing the youngest Salvatore brother where he stood with his arms crossed over his broad chest across the room.   
“I… I…uh..” he stuttered unsurely as he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly and I sighed at how adorable he looked even when he was confused before I drained the rest of my champagne for liquid courage.   
“You were the one were chased me down, Stefan. Obviously you wanted to talk about something so just get it out already.” I urged him as I shifted on my feet restlessly with my arms hanging limply at my sides and he sighed as he glanced away before looking back at me with wide light green eyes.   
“I’m sorry, Rhea. When I stole the coffins from Klaus, I forgot that I was also stealing from you.” He apologised to me in a contrite tone of voice as and I felt a surge of anger swell in my stomach at his words because I knew that he didn’t mean them. My fury intensified into a burning hot rage so I threw my empty champagne flute at the wall above Stefan’s head causing him to duck in surprise at my outburst and I grunted in frustration as I scowled at him.   
“I don’t want your apology, Stefan.” I shouted at him loudly as my voice cracked a little at the pain that I felt at the betrayal and he had the decency to flinch at the sound of my anger voice. “Because I know that you don’t mean it. I know it was 90 years ago but I loved you! I loved you so much Stefan. We were together for a year and a half. I gave more of myself to you than I have to anyone other than my family and it still wasn’t enough. I know that Nik compelled you to forget me and I hate him for that. I know that you’ve moved on and that you love Elena. I know that and I’m so happy for you.” I told him honestly as hot tears filled my eyes but I tried to keep them at bay because I didn’t want to ruin my makeup and face the wrath of Rebekah.   
“Rhea…”   
“No. Just no, Stefan.” I interrupted him softly as I held up a hand to stop him when he tried to step towards me and he stop in the middle of the room with tears in his own eyes.   
“Rheanna, I’m sorry that I hurt you. You’re right. I’m don’t regret taking the coffins but I do regret that my actions hurt you.” He told me in his melodic voice and I closed my eyes when I saw the sincerity in the depths of his light green eyes.   
“Okay.”   
“Okay?”   
“Okay, Stefan.” I replied to him gently as I reopened my eyes and nodded my head at him slowly when he looked at me beseechingly. “I can see the humanity in your eyes. I couldn’t see it before but it’s there now. What happened? When did you stop drinking human blood?”   
“You can tell that? I stopped the night I threatened to drive Elena off Wickery Bridge. Why did you stop me that night?” he asked me curiously as he tilted his head to the side and scrunched his forehead in thought as he took a step closer to me.   
“You never would have forgiven yourself, Stefan. I did it for you.” I answered him honestly in a quiet voice as I watched his movements until he was standing only a few feet in front of me and fidgeted with my fingers nervously at his close proximity. His light green eyes widened slightly at my confession but otherwise his face remained impassive and I ran my tongue over my lower lip anxiously. I cocked my head to the side in thought and frowned as I studied his eyes for any tell-tale signs of what he was feeling. “You seem sad.”   
“… Elena and Damon kissed.” He admitted to me reluctantly after a moment of silence and he seemed surprised by his own admission as I nodded in understanding. I took a small step forward so that we were only a few inches away from each other and I could feel his gaze burning into me as I slowly raised my hand to rest gently on his chest over where his heart was. I ignored the swirl of butterflies that erupted in my stomach as I slowly bent my head slightly upwards and my lips parted a little as they pressed gently against his. His skin had the same smooth texture that I could remember from 90 years ago and as my lips melded with his my eyes closed of their own accord. It only lasted a moment or two both I pulled back from him reluctantly so that I was an inch away from him and slowly moved my hand up his lapel as his breath mixed with mine.   
“So that you’re even.” I whispered in his ear as my lips gently brushed against the shell of his ear and I backed away at a run so that Stefan was left standing alone in the middle of the empty study with his eyes closed.   
>>>>

Caroline POV:  
I reluctantly followed Klaus out of the ballroom because well one, because he asked and two, because I didn’t want to be surrounded by the townspeople giving me condolences for my loss. I had only come to the ball because Elena had asked me to. I was very happy to sit at home on my own with a pint of ice-cream and The Notebook but Elena had asked me to be a bodyguard for her and Matt since he was going with Rebekah.   
“Come on, love.” Klaus urged me in his adorable accented voice and I sighed slightly as I followed him down a hallway.   
“Hey, while I’m thinking about it, can you answer a question for me?” I asked him in a bright voice as he looked back at me in mild surprise because I had actually started the conversation.   
“I’ve been around for 1000 years, I’m sure I know a thing or two.” He replied teasingly to me with a charming smile and I rolled my eyes at him as we slowed down to walk at a more leisurely pace.   
“Rhea keeps calling me petite luciole.” I explained in a butchered French accent and he chuckled lightly at my pronunciation. “What does it mean?”   
“Well, petite luciole means ‘little firefly’. But the fact that Rhea gave you a nickname means that she has taken a liking to you. It makes you untouchable to everyone and puts you under the care of the Original family. She’s only chosen a few people over the years. The last one was a young woman named Alexa Branson 300 years ago.”   
“Wow.” I breathed out at the overflow of information and he nodded slowly as he looked forward. “Why would she choose me?”   
“Well, isn’t it obvious? You're beautiful, you're strong, you're full of light. Those are all qualities that both my sister and I appreciate.” He explained with a serious look on his handsome face and I blinked in surprise at the words because it was rare that someone said those things to me and not Elena.   
“So what did you want to show me?” I asked him to change the subject after a moment of uncomfortable silence and he grinned suddenly as he grabbed hold of my wrist before pulling me into a set of double doors.   
“One of my passions.” He replied to me as I looked around in awe at the private art gallery he had dragged me into.  
“Impressive. I take it the curators at the Louve aren't on vervain.” I joked teasingly with a light smile as I looked around at the fantastic paintings on the wall.   
“Yeah, well that's their mistake.” Klaus told me with a chuckle as he moved to stand near the large desk in the middle of the room and I smiled as I looked over the artworks.   
“What about these? Where'd you steal this from?” I asked as I gestured to the diamond bracelet on my wrist that he had given me for my birthday.   
“Well, that's a long story. But rest assured it was worn by a princess almost as beautiful as you.” He confessed to me and I rolled my eyes dramatically at the line as he looked away in embarrassment. I looked down at the table in front of me and frowned in confusion when I saw hand drawn charcoal works.   
“Wait a second. Did—did you do these?” I asked him in awe as I glanced back up at him and he gave me a sheepish smile as he looked at the pictures I was pointing to.   
“Yeah, um... actually one of my landscapes is hanging at the Hermitage, not that anyone would notice. Have you been?”   
“I've never really been anywhere.” I replied sadly as I studied the pictures carefully and I heard him step towards me a little but kept my gaze locked on the desk in front of me.   
“I'll take you. Wherever you want Rome. Paris. Tokyo?”   
“Oh wow.” I exclaimed with laugh at his serious tone and he laughed along with me as he moved to stand next to me. “Must be really nice to just snap your fingers and get whatever you want. Is that why you collect hybrids? A little servant army to take you places and bring you things.”   
“You're making assumptions.” He told me in a hard tone and I looked up at him in understanding as I took a step backwards away from him.   
“I get it. Your father didn't love you, so you assume that no one else will either. And that's why you compel people or you sire them or you try to buy them off.” I said angrily as I ripped off the bracelet from my wrist and threw it on the table next to me. “But that's not how it works. You don't connect with people, because you don't even try to understand them.” I shouted at him in frustration before I shook my head at him sadly and turned on my heel to storm out of the room without a backwards glance. 

>>>>  
3rd Person POV:  
Finn Mikaelson walked into his mother’s office still in his tuxedo from the ball and shut the door behind him as Esther sat in one of the chairs in the middle of the room next to a table.   
“Are we alright to speak freely?” he asked her in his accented voice and she sighed slightly as she checked the burning sage.   
“Yes, the sage still burns.” She replied carefully as she grabbed a piece of paper and pen before writing all of her children’s name in Runic on the paper. Kol, Rheanna, Rebekah, Finn, Elijah, Niklaus.   
“You aren't having second thoughts, are you?” Finn asked her curiously with a hint of worry in his voice and she shook her head in denial.   
“Of course not, it's just Elijah and Rheanna. He's so moral and she’s so compassionate.”   
“You're doing the right thing, mother. Rhea would understand. She too was once a servant of nature.” He tried to reassure her as he placed a hand on her shoulder and she smiled slightly as she thought back to when her youngest daughter was a witch like her.   
“You understand what this means, don't you? This spell I'm casting tonight will bind you all together as one.” Esther stated to him as she turned her head to look him straight in the eye and he nodded his head determinedly.   
“I understand. When it is time, I will be ready to die.”   
“Then we must complete the link.” She told him as she stood up with a knife in her hand and Finn nodded once more as he held out his hand for his mother to press the blade into his skin so that the scarlet blood dripped on the paper. “Phasmatos inta grum vin callus... Amalon callagius accodam.. Cosom naben dox... Callagius amalon... Gaeda callagius ceremum... Phamato descendium vinum... Phasmatos inta grum vin callus.. Cosom naben dox.” She recited the spell in Latin as Finn watched the blood join all the names together in a blood red tree. “The link is complete. You are one.”


	15. All My Children

Always Getting Over You:  
All My Children:

Elena POV:  
The night after the Mikaelson ball, I was standing in front of the Salvatore Boarding house because I need to tell Damon about how Esther had joined all her children together as one in order to kill them. I knew that he was hurting after what I said to him last night but I had a feeling that he would get over it sooner or later since he had feelings for me. I raised my fist to knock on the heavy wood door but before I could it swung open to reveal a dishevelled looking Rebekah still wearing her emerald green ball gown and a shirtless Damon. My mouth popped open in shock as the Original smirked at me victoriously and strutted pass me down the driveway without another word. I followed her movements with my eyes before I turned back to face Damon with a stunned expression but it just walked back into the house.   
“Did you stop taking your vervain?” I asked him incredulously as I followed him into the house and slammed the door behind me.   
“You think Rebekah had to compel me?” he asked me sceptically as he moved to stand behind the bar in the corner of the room and I gaped at him for a second before shaking my head.   
“What’s wrong with you? She tried to kill me less than forty eight hours ago.”   
“Can we just move pass that, Elena?” he asked me sarcastically as he waved his hand dismissively and I scoffed at him as I crossed my arms over my chest.   
“So is that how it’s going to be now? I hurt your feelings and this is how you lash out at me?”   
“Well, maybe, for once, something I did had nothing to do with you.” He responded pointedly as he poured himself a glass of bourbon from one of the bottle on the bar and I walked closer to him with narrowed eyes.   
“You should know that Esther is planning on killing her entire family. She’s linked them all together with a spell. Whatever happens to one, happens to all of them.” I informed him in a softened tone as I bit my lower lip nervously because I was starting to feel guilty that Elijah and Rheanna were going to be killed.   
“Well, that’s great! Klaus will finally be dead. We win. Why do you look like someone just shot a panda bear?” Damon asked me as he sipped his drink and I scoffed at his words before I gave him pointed look.   
“Uh, because to kill Klaus she has to kill all of them, including Elijah and Rheanna. And they don’t deserve this!” I shouted at him indignantly as I let my arms fall helplessly to my sides and tilted my head to the side slightly.   
“Don’t do anything to screw this up, Elena.” He warned me in a hard tone as he stepped closer to me and I gave him a confused look because I thought he was friends with Rheanna at least.   
“Why are you doing this?” I asked him helplessly as I sunk down on the edge of the couch behind me and he sculled the rest of his bourbon before moving back to the bar with a thoughtful expression.   
“Rhea has been looking for the person that killed Lexi. Apparently, she and the Originals were tight back in the day, specifically with Elijah. I have a feeling that they will be out for blood when they find out the truth. If Mommy Original really does kill them then I don’t have to worry about it.” He explained in a nonchalant tone with a carefree shrug of his shoulders at the end and I stared at him for a moment as I thought about his reasoning.   
“…Okay. I won’t screw it up.” I agreed with him reluctantly because I didn’t want Damon to get hurt and then stood up from the couch in one shift motion. “I have to go tell Bonnie, Caroline and Stefan.”   
“You can’t!” Damon called out to me when I was halfway towards the front door and I sighed impatiently as I turned back around to face him.   
“And why not?”   
“Because Vampire Barbie and Rhea are close now. Do you really think she would let her new BFF get killed?” he asked me warily as he refilled his glass with bourbon and I nodded slowly after moments thought because it was true that Caroline and the honey haired Original were friends now. “And Stefan… Well, do I really need to say?”   
“Yes.” I hissed out angrily as I crossed my arms over my chest and tried to ignore the wave of jealousy that washed over me at the thought of Stefan and Rhea together. I knew in my heart that I loved Stefan but I was also having feelings for his brother since Stefan had been gone over the summer. It hadn’t helped my confusion when Damon kissed me on the porch a few weeks ago. Damon heaved out a sigh as he put the glass down on the table and looked over to the side of the room so that he wasn’t looking in my eye.   
“At the ball last night… Rhea kissed him.” Damon revealed in a gentle tone laced with sympathy and my mouth dropped open unintentionally.   
>>>>  
Rhea POV:  
I was sitting on one end of the comfortable red couch in the living room reading a book I had found in Elijah’s study with my feet resting on Nik’s lap while he sketched in one of his numerous sketchpads. The only noise that could be heard was the faint sound of Nik’s charcoal pencil gently grazing the paper in the front of him, the occasional scrape of paper against paper as I turned the page of my novel and the constant sound of Kol’s voice as he verbalized his boredom repeatedly as we ignored him. I heard the front door opening from where I sat and I looked up from my book with a frown just in time to see the mischievous smile that immediately spread across Kol’s face at the possibility of someone new to torment. I smirked a little knowingly at the sight of a very dishevelled Rebekah strolling into the house in the green dress that she had worn last night and her heels dangling from her hand as Kol perked up at the sight of his younger sister.   
“Well, well, well, there’s our girl.” Kol said teasingly with a smirk on his lips as he stood up from the armchair his was sitting in to block Rebekah’s way to the stairs and I carefully closed my book so that I could watch the scene in front of me in amusement.   
“Get out of my way, Kol.” Rebekah growled at him angrily through clenched teeth but he still didn’t move out of her way and I smiled at little in amusement as she tried to sidestep him only to be blocked again immediately.   
“Out all night. What a scandal! I trust you did better than that commoner? Matt, was it?”   
“If you don’t shut your mouth, the next thing to come out of it will be your teeth.” Rebekah threatened him harshly as she leaned forward with a thunderous expression on her pretty face but he just grinned back at her as Nik and I tried to stop the amused smiles that were fighting their way to our lips. “Don’t start, you two!”   
“I didn’t say anything.” Nik protested calmly without looking from his sketchbook but I could hear the laughter in his voice and I plastered an innocent look on my face as she walked further into the living room.   
“I’m not saying anything until I can get the details.” I informed her slyly as I shot a wink in her direction and she smiled slightly at me as out brothers groaned in disgust at our conversation. I tilted my head to the side as I gazed at her and gave her a fake thoughtful look that she frowned at in confusion. “You know, that dress looks familiar. Have you worn it before, sister dearest?”  
“I’m bored!” Kol announced suddenly as he threw himself down on the armchair he was in before when Rebekah opened her mouth to retort to my teasing and I smirked victoriously at my sister as she scowled at me. “One of our sisters is a strumpet, but at least she’s having fun. I need entertainment.”   
“What are you waiting for? Go on, have at it.” Nik drawled at him as he continued to sketch something without even glancing at him and I bit the corner of my lower lip to stop myself from laughing at the familiar bickering of my brothers because it was great to feel the intimacy of family after so many years.   
“It’s not fun to go alone. Join me, Nik! It’s the least you can do after sticking a dagger in my heart.” My youngest brother negotiated with an overdramatic pout on his handsome face as I giggled slightly at him and Nik finally looked up from his sketchpad to quirk an eyebrow at me.   
“Okay. Why not? I didn’t have nearly enough to drink last night, what with you trying to murder Rebekah’s date.” Nik said with a sigh as he lifted my legs from of his lap and placed them gently on the couch where he was previously sitting as he stood up. He put his sketchbook down on the coffee table in the middle of the room as Kol grinned widely and jumped up from the armchair as well.   
“Yes, please go, this house has enough men rolling around it in.” Rebekah called out to them as they headed towards the door and Kol turned around to face her so that he was walking backwards.   
“Just like you, Bekah.” He teased her with a smirk as he pointed at her and I laughed outright as Rebekah hurdle one of her high heels at Kol’s head.   
“Good riddance, both of you!” She shouted after them as Kol danced out of the way of the oncoming shoe and the boys laughed loudly as they left the room while I shook my head with a wide grin. I grabbed my novel off of my lap and opened it to the page that I was reading before Rebekah arrived home as she scoffed at our brother’s while heading towards the stairs now that Kol wasn’t in her way.   
“Rebekah.” I heard Elijah say from the doorway so I looked up from my book to see him standing there in his normal suit holding a charred green herb in his hand and I frowned sightly with my eyebrow furrowed as I stood up gracefully from the couch.   
“Not you too, Elijah.” Rebekah whined as she looked up at the ceiling in exasperation and I placed my book down on the coffee table next to Nik’s sketchbook as I crept passed on my way to stand next my twin sister.   
“I’m worried about mother. Have either of you noticed her strange behaviour?” Elijah asked the two of us as I came to a stop at Rebekah’s side and I shook my head in denial as the blonde gave him an irritated look.   
“She’s been dead for a thousand years. What’s strange for her?”   
“Burnt sage.” I stated slowly as I reached out to take the small sprig from Elijah’s hand and held it up for them both to see the charred black ends of it. “She was doing a privacy spell.”   
“You know she fancies such things. Why don’t you ask Finn? He’s been doting on her.” Rebekah reminded us with a frown as she shook her head slightly and I pursed my lips together to stop from voicing the thoughts that were running through my mind.   
“I don’t trust, Finn. He hates what we are, he always has.” Elijah explained to her in his usual calm voice and I breathed a small sigh of relief that I wasn’t the only one who had doubts about Finn’s loyalty because I really didn’t want to mistrust my own siblings but I trusted Elijah’s judgement.   
“That’s not true. And as for mother, she returned for one reason, to make our family whole. She loves us. What trouble are you looking to find?” Rebekah asked him rhetorically as she walked around him without another word and I watched her walk up the stairs to the second floor where the bedrooms were. I looked back at the concern look on Elijah’s handsome face before holding out my hand for him to take and he gave me a ghost of a smile as he placed his large hand in mine. I silently lead him over to the couch before I sunk down on the soft cushion and dragged my brother down so that he was sitting next to me while I tucked a leg underneath my body so that I was comfortable.   
“Why are you really worried about mother’s intentions?” I asked him softly in concern as I turned my body to face him and he sighed warily as he ran a hand down his face in a way that made his face seem older.   
“Last night at the ball mother arranged to speak to Elena alone and when I asked Elena what happened she lied to me.”   
“Mother is a servant of nature, Elijah. Being a vampire is a crime against nature.” I informed him sadly as I looked down at my lap and he placed his hand over mine in a comforting gesture because he knew that I was thinking about how I used to be a servant of nature myself.   
“She plans on fixing the mistake she made when she turned us into vampires 1000 years ago.”   
>>>>  
Elijah sat gracefully in one of the comfortable armchairs in the living room of the Salvatore Boarding House while I perched on the edge of the arm next to him with my hands folded in my lap. I sighed in boredom as I waited impatiently for the Salvatore brothers to arrive home and Elijah gently patted my hand to calm me down a little. I perked up a little in my seat when I heard the front door open and the steady footsteps leading to the room we were waiting in.   
“Come on, Elena! Pick up the goddamn phone!” Damon shouted angrily into the phone as he stepped into the room and I smirked a little as he came to a complete stop in the middle of the room when he saw us waiting for him. He pursed his lips together as he slowly lowered the cell phone from his ear and Elijah gave him a ghost of a smirk as he crossed his leg over one another.   
“Hello, Damon.” My brother greeted him pleasantly as I offered him a slightly sarcastic wave of my hand and he gave us a fake tight smile in return as he placed his phone in his pants pocket. “I wouldn’t worry about Elena just yet.”   
“And why is that?” Damon asked him in a tensely polite voice as he stepped forward but just as I opened my mouth to explain what was going on I heard the front door reopen and my head snapped up in response.   
“I can’t find her anywhere.” I heard Stefan call out to his brother from near the front door and I tensed as he entered the room only to freeze at the sight of us just as Damon had only minutes earlier.   
“Hello, Stefan.” Elijah said to the youngest Salvatore while I plastered a impassive expression on my face because I didn’t want him to see the hurt on my face. While we weren’t together anymore, I still figure he cared enough about me that he cared whether I lived or died and I never thought he would be a part of the conspiracy to have me killed.   
“They have Elena.” Damon explained to his brother without taking his electric blue eyes off of us and Stefan’s handsome face morphed into confusion as his light green gaze landed on me but I diverted my eyes from him.   
“Actually, she’s with Rebekah.” I corrected him as I looked back at Damon with a blank look on my face so that he couldn’t see the pain in my oak brown eyes. “We played Scissor, Paper, Rock to see who got to play babysitter.”   
“Yes, as you can imagine, both my sisters are just dying to tear her throat out. So… if you want to save Elena’s life, I need you to help us stop our mother.” Elijah told them in the same polite tone that he used when greeting them and Damon continued to stare at us while Stefan looked at his brother in confusion so I frowned at him.   
“I’m a little embarrassed to admit, but when it comes to killing thousand year old resurrected witches, I’m a little rusty.” Damon told us in a hard tone as he stepped forward but I kept my gaze locked on Stefan because he was looking at his brother in utter bewilderment.   
“Yes, unfortunately, even when killed my mother doesn’t seem to want to stay dead. Not with the spirits of nature at her side. The witches that released my mother, she’s drawing her power from their bloodline, which line needs to be broken.” I informed them in a knowing tone as I remembered some of my lessons from back when I was human and Elijah nodded his head in agreement.   
“Broken?” Stefan asked incredulously as he crossed his arms over his broad chest on frowned at us and I quirked an eyebrow at him as I pursed my lips together.   
“Yeah, he means – “ Damon trailed off as he made a cutting motion with his forefinger over his throat and I frowned at him in disapproval because the death of a servant of nature was not something I treated of disrespect. “They want us to kill them.”   
“You know I’d do it myself, but I have absolutely no idea where they are. Besides, seeing me, they’d immediately know my intent. They won’t expect to be harm by the likes of you. In any case, you have until six minutes after nine to find them.” Elijah explained to them as he gracefully stood up from the armchair and I followed suit with my arms crossed over my chest protectively.   
“Oh, how super specific of you.”   
“By 9:07, the moon will be full, my mother will have the power she needs to kill me and my family. If you do not stop her before then, Rebekah will kill Elena. So we all have our timeline? I suggest you get started.” My brother told them as he slowly walked out of the Salvatore Boarding House without a backwards glance with all of us watching him and I glanced over at Stefan with a hurt look on my face as he turned back to look at me with a shocked look.   
“You didn’t know…” I stated softly in realisation as I took a slow step forward and he shook his head rapidly at me in denial as he matched my footsteps.  
“No. No, I swear to you, Rhea, I had no idea about any of this.” He swore to me in a rush as he moved to stand in front of me and I nodded at him as I let a relieved smile spread across my lips despite the circumstance.   
“Alright, come on, lover boy. We have a witch to kill.” Damon said sarcastically as he grabbed his younger brother’s arm and pulled him out of the Boarding House to find the Bennet witches that were helping my mother.   
>>>>  
3rd Person POV:  
Niklaus and Kol Mikaelson were sitting at the bar at the Mystic Grill drinking glasses of bourbon at a leisurely pace just as a stunning blonde vampire strolled into the bar wearing a black dress and four inch high heels. Both the Originals brothers’ eyes were immediately drawn to her as she sauntered further into the room and her blue eyed gaze darted around the room as though she was looking for someone. Klaus smiled slightly at the sight of her while Kol smirked at the prospect of a new conquest.   
“I remember her from last night. She looks like a tasty little thing.” Kol stated in a cocky voice as he pointed a finger towards her and Klaus instantly frowned as he leaned towards his younger brother.   
“Say another word and I’ll tear out your liver.” Klaus threatened darkly without taking his light blue gaze off of the beautiful young woman in front of them and Kol looked at his brother in shock because he wasn’t used to the Original Hybrid being so protective of random women. “Caroline!”   
“Oh, it’s you.” Caroline spat out at him when her searching gaze landed on him and she crossed her arms protectively over her chest as she walked towards the duo.   
“Join us for a drink?”   
“Mmm, I’d rather die of thirst. But thanks.” She declined in a fake polite tone as she smirked at him and then she frowned as her gaze went back to sweeping the entire establish for someone. Caroline sighed in defeat when she couldn’t see the person she was looking for before an idea popped into her mind as she turned back to the Originals with a bright smile. “Do you happen to know where Rhea is?”   
“Haven’t seen her since this morning, love.” Klaus informed her regretfully with a slight frown and Caroline bit her lower lip in frustration because of the setback to her plans. She gave Klaus a fleeting smile before she turned around without looking at Kol again and she headed straight for the door that lead to the outside.   
“Isn’t she stunning?” Klaus breathed out in awe as he watched her exit the building and Kol whistled lowly at the bewitched expression on his brother’s face.   
“She certainly looks good walking away from you.” Kol told him in amusement as let a genuine smile cross his features at the look of pure happiness on his older brother’s face and Klaus glanced at him with a daring spark in his light blue eyes.  
“I’ll take that as a challenge.” He replied to his brother before he sculled the rest of his bourbon and stood up to follow Caroline out of the Grill without looking back at his brother. Klaus ran out of the bar as the fresh night time air surrounded him instantly and he looked across the road to where a familiar head of blonde hair was heading towards her car. He smiled slightly as he jogged at human speed across the road and quickly swerved out of the way as a car came at him before beeping their horn angrily. “Caroline!”   
“Are you serious? Take a hint.” She yelled at him as she spun on her heel to face him and he slowed down to a walk as he approached her with his hands held up in front of him cautiously.   
“Don’t be angry, love. We had a little spat. I’m over it already.”   
“Ah, well, I’m not.” Caroline told him with a tense smile on her lips as she shook her head at him in exasperation and crossed her arms across her chest.   
“How can I acquit myself?” he asked her with genuine curiosity as he gave her a pleading look and Caroline forced herself not to look into his light blue eyes because she knew that she would probably give into him instantly. Klaus was the reason Tyler wasn’t in town and she had to make herself remember that whenever he flashed those adorable dimples at her or spoke to her softly in that accent.   
“You and your expensive jewellery and your romantic drawings can leave me alone.”   
“Oh, come on, take a chance, Caroline.” Klaus said with a slight sigh as he sat down on the bench that was next to them and patted the place next to him with grin that showed his dimples. “Talk to me. Come on, get to know me. I dare you.”   
“…Fine.” She agreed reluctantly after a moment of thought because wasn’t one to turn down a dare no matter they were from and gracefully sat down on the next to the hybrid on the wooden bench as she rolled her blue eyes at him. “So, what do you wanna talk about?”   
“I want to talk about you. Your hopes, your dreams, everything you want in life.” He told her honestly as he leaned forward slightly with a hopeful smile and he was reminded of bells at the sound of her light laughter even with it was directed at him.   
“Just to be clear, I’m too smart to be seduced by you.”   
“Well, that’s why I like you.” The hybrid said to her softly with serious look on his handsome face and Caroline sucked in an unnecessary breath at the honesty shining in his eyes.   
>>>>  
Rhea POV:  
“They’re coming, Mother!” I heard my eldest brother tell my mother as Kol, Elijah, Niklaus and I calmly strolled closer to the clearing in front of the abandoned witch’s house that the Salvatore’s hid the coffins in.   
“No, it’s too soon. The moon is not high enough. Go! Quickly!” Esther ordered the Bennet witches sternly and the two women retreated into the house quickly so that they wouldn’t be in the middle of our family’s spat. Elijah silently touched my arm in reassurance as the four of us entered the clearing where Finn and Esther were standing in a sacred pentagram surrounded by flames. “My sons, Rhea, come forward.”  
“Stay beside me, Mother.” Finn told her without taking his hazel gaze off of us as we walked to stand in a loose line on one side of the pentagram and I scoffed slightly at him as my oak brown eyes narrowed at his lack of family loyalty. Kol shadowed my scoff as he stepped towards the pentagram but the flames grew higher so that he couldn’t get pass into the circle.   
“That’s lovely. We’re stuck out here, while the favourite son plays sacrificial lamb. How pathetic you are, Finn.” Kol spat at our brother harshly as he moved back to where he was standing before and I tried hard to ignore the feeling of betrayal that I was experiencing.   
“Be quiet, Kol. Your brother knows virtue you cannot even imagine.” Mother scolded her youngest son as she placed a restraining hand on Finn’s arm to stop him from attacking Kol and I rolled my eyes at her praise for Finn.   
“Whatever you think of us, killing your own children will be an atrocity.” Elijah reminded her in his usual calm voice although I could hear the anger behind his words and I gently placed my hand on his where it still rested on my arm.   
“My only regret is that I did not let you die a thousand years ago. Surely you, Rheanna, can understand why I must do this?”   
“No. Elijah’s right, mother. Killing your own children is barbaric. You and Mikael really were made for each other.” I spat at her angrily as I let all the betrayal I was feeling leak into my voice and she lifted her head slightly at the insult I threw at her.   
“You were once a servant of nature. Vampire are an abomination. I betrayed nature when I created the vampire race. It's my duty to kill you.” Esther declared in a slightly raised voice and I glowered at her as I took a step forward so that I was in front of my brothers.   
“We are only making the best of what you and father did to us! It was your thoughtless actions that lead us to this and I will not pay for what you see as your mistakes! I believe in family and it actually means something to me and I will fight for what I believe in.” I informed her passionately as I stepped closer to the ring of fire so that I could feel the heat on my skin radiating off of my flames and she just stared back at me defiantly with her blue eyes shining with determination.   
“Enough. All this talk is boring me. End this now, Mother, or I’ll send you back to Hell.” Niklaus told her in a bored voice as he walked up to stand next to me and wrapped a hand around my upper arm so that he could pull me back from the flames.   
“For a thousand years, I’ve been forced to watch you. Felt the pain of every victim, suffered while you shed blood. Even you, Elijah, with your claim to nobility, you’re no better. All of you. You’re a curse on this Earth. Stretched out over generations. If you’ve come to plead for your life, I’m sorry, you’ve wasted your time.” Esther told us as she straightened her back and looked at us all in the eye boldly for a moment as I felt the instantly hurt when I finally came to the realisation that our mother wanted to kill us. I frowned in confusion when her face contorted into a look of concern and she started staring up at the sky as she flames started fading. “No! Sisters! Do not abandon me!”   
“Mother!” Finn shouted in shock as her grabbed our mother’s arm and disappeared out of sight just as the flames suddenly flared dramatically before fading completely. Elijah, Klaus, Kol and I all shared a look of shock before I looked at the abandoned witch house in understanding and frowned in sympathy at the fallen witch.


End file.
